The Nobodies
by TheMenace3117
Summary: [1/3] After Sonic's "Death", his friends split up and crime rises dangerously. Amy, Tails and Knuckles meet Manic but he's not too eager to help, and The group Hazard makes everyone believe the friends are useless without Sonic. Manic fights with the friends but when his life is affected by Hazard, he joins to stop them.
1. Chapter 1

**HEY GUYS, I'VE BEEN THROUGH A FEW REWRITES WITH THIS ONE BUT IVE GOT IT NOW. THIS FIC IS INSPIRED BY MARVEL'S NETFLIX SHOWS AND I THOUGHT THE CHARACTERS WOULD MATCH THE STORY PERFECTLY. ANYWAYS ENJOY, AND PLEASE REVIEW.**

* * *

 _Chapter One: Cold Reality_

It's fairly cold out on this snowy night, New Year's Eve to be exact. 11:30 PM. Families turn on their TV'S to watch the countdown clock and stay warm inside. To them it's just a regular night in.

Unfortunately for Sonic the Hedgehog, tonight is anything but regular.

The Blue Blur speeds around a Power Grid, smashing Machine Gun Turrets and dodging gun fire. Dr. Eggman works fast inside his Armoured Tank, draining Electricity from the Grid.

Sonic jumps off a Telephone Pole and lands on the bullet proof windshield of Eggman's Tank

"Couldn't wait til AFTER New Year's to pull this stunt?" Sonic asks

"Your pointless holidays mean nothing to me, especially when I have the chance to eliminate you for good!" Eggman shouts

A Chrome plated Robot climbs up to the Roof of the tank and it's red eyes lock onto Sonic

"I don't think I've met you yet"

The robot jumps down at the Hedgehog so he dodges to the left. They engage while Eggman continues typing on a keyboard and rotating a crank shaft. Two more Chrome Robots join the fight and they grab Sonic.

The robots throw him against a brick wall and hold him in place. The Tank turns to face them, then suddenly a massive crane rises from the back of the Tank. A cannon aims down at Sonic, while the robots keep him still.

Sonic looks up at the weapon " _This doesn't look good_ "

The Doctor pulls the trigger and the Cannon fires. The explosion causes a massive recoil, knocking down the entire Power Grid. Even his Tank is flipped away from the blast zone. Instantly, the whole city's power goes down.

A few moments later, Eggman crawls around inside his nearly destroyed Tank. He uses the wall to stand up and he looks for Sonic. He is nowhere to be found.

"I did it.." Eggman coughs "...well, it was fun while it lasted, Sonic..."

The Doctor climbs out of his Tank and walks in the snow. G.U.N officers surround him and order him to get down. He smirks as the officers put him in handcuffs and take him away.

 **6 MONTHS LATER**

The Sun shines through the clouds as summer officially starts. All of Sonic's friends have moved on in their own way, and moved away from Green Hill. Everyone outside enjoys the day, except Amy Rose. Sonic's death hit everyone hard, but none more than her. She tries to let it go and move on, but she just can't. This someone she loves, and now he's gone.

Tails lives in a house that he, Sonic and Knuckles built years ago. He spends his days repairing cars and small Planes in an autobody shop he works at. Tails called Sonic and Knuckles his "big brothers", and the rest of his friends he considered Family. But now, the Young Fox sits alone in a big house.

Knuckles never talked about his feelings, he was always serious around the gang. But he couldn't hide the pain when Sonic died. He came to the funeral, but instead of grieving with his friends, the Echidna left town to be alone. He drinks alcohol and works in a warehouse, while he says he's moved on. But everyone knows that's not true.

The rest of the world has adjusted to the loss of the biggest hero who saved them countless times. Even though Eggman is locked away, crime hasn't gone down. In fact, it's rising at a dangerous rate.

Manic the Hedgehog is Sonic's brother, something he never told his friends. Knuckles is the only one who met him, back when he dated Sonia.

Manic and Sonic hadn't spoken to eachother in years, they fought constantly because Sonic was a hero and his brother was a thief.

Tonight Manic is looking to steal something back that was taken from him. He waits til sun down, then he climbs a fire escape ladder and sits on a rooftop. He calls a friend and waits for the answer.

"Hey, it's Manic. Is he here? ... No, I'm not drunk! What? Mick, I'm not in the mood right now, can you please just tell me... around the corner? alright. Oh, screw you!"

The Green Hedgehog leaves his bag on the rooftop and climbs down the ladder to the back alley. His black clothes help him hide in the shadows. A short, grey hedgehog walks down the street when suddenly Manic pulls him into the alley and slams him against a brick wall.

"Remember me?" Manic asks aggressively

The grey hedgehog looks in his eyes "Manic, bro hey! chill out, I was gonna get that stuff back to you, I swear!"

Manic punches him in the gut and picks him back up

"Something tells me you weren't, I don't know why. Oh yeah, because you robbed my friend Mickie, too"

Manic punches the grey hedgehog several times then kicks his legs out from under him, knocking the Hedgehog to the ground.

" **STOP!**... take anything you want, just please... no more"

"Did you stop beating my friend when he asked for mercy? No, I remember because I went into the hospital to see him. Took a crowbar to his head, if I remember correctly" Manic says

"What? I didn't do anything, man!"

"Don't lie to me! My friend Thompson is in the hospital 'cuz of you!"

"Who? I swear I've never heard of him!"

"Aren't you Ivan?" Manic asks

"Man, hell no! That's my cousin"

"Oh, well then I have the wrong guy. My bad"

Manic grabs the hedgehog's arm and takes a gold watch off his wrist.

"But you did rob my friend so I'm taking your Watch. Tell your cousin he's next. Run along, now" Manic says

The grey hedgehog gets up and takes off back into the streets while Manic checks out the Gold Watch. He climbs up the ladder and walks over to his bag, only to find someone standing in front of it. It's Knuckles, wearing a hoodie to cover his face.

"Knucklehead? What are you doing out here, don't you know it's a bad neighborhood" Manic says sarcastically

"Still a _two-bit thief_ , huh" Knuckles replies

"It ain't pretty but it pays the bills, bro. Wanna go ahead and slide my bag over to me so I can get outta here, it's gettin' late"

"That kid you just robbed is my coworker, Manic"

"Yeah? Well your buddy stole from a girl and jumped her boyfriend"

"I never said he was my buddy, I just work with him"

"Oh, and you're out on the streets being Mr. Big Badass, protecting guys like him. I see, well you're doing a damn good job" Manic says

"You know you've got a big mouth for such a scrawny punk" Knuckles says "I'm only here to tell you face to face, keep your bullshit out of my neighborhood. I've seen you around here before, and you don't do anything except cause trouble"

"See, I was gonna leave peacefully but since you put it THAT way.."

Manic punches Knuckles in the face, but they have little effect on him. With one punch, Knuckles knocks Manic to the ground.

"What?!" Manic says, shocked at Knuckles' strength

"Like I said, stay away from here"

The Echidna starts climbing down the ladder while Manic growls to himself. He gets up and runs at Knuckles. They flip over the fire escape and fall 15 feet into the back alley street.

"Okay, that wasn't a smart move..." Manic groans

"... Alright. You wanna take it that far, that's cool with me. Just remember, you wanted this" Knuckles says as he stands up

"I've wanted to do this ever since you dated my sister"

Manic jumps up and spin kicks Knuckles in the chest, but he just bounces off. He kicks the Echidna's legs and body, but Knuckles walks through everything. Manic dodges a few punches, jumps off the wall and kicks him in the face. This kick does some damage, knocking Knuckles backwards.

He spits out blood and looks up "Good one"

"Ready to give up or should I continue kicking your head around?" Manic asks

"I'm ready to knock out your punk ass"

Knuckles stands up, gets in a boxing stance and approaches Manic. He punches fast as he gets closer, so Manic dodges and moves around to avoid the attack. Knuckles fakes a punch, Manic moves to dodge it but gets hit with a power punch from the left side.

Manic falls backwards and lands on the street. His head is dizzy and tries to stand up but he can't.

"You're done. I kicked your ass back then, and I kicked your ass now. I hope you learned your lesson, Manic. And if you didn't, I got no problem doing this again. Now get outta here" Knuckles says

The Echidna turns his back and walks away, while Manic lies in pain. He opens his jacket and a green medallion necklace glows

"Hey!"

Knuckles turns around "What, more?"

Manic stands up, his medallion is giving him energy and he heals up quickly.

"We're not done"

"Manic, stop it before you get hurt"

The Green Hedgehog throws a powerful punch that hits directly on Knuckles' jaw. The medallion's energy adds an amazing amount of power, and this punch Knocks out Knuckles.

The Red and Blue lights of a police cruiser flash and the siren goes off once. Manic quickly covers up the medallion and faces the Cops.

"Evening, gentleman" Manic says

"Are you the one that's climbing around these rooftops and Fighting all the neighbors here?" The first officer asks

"Me? nah, I mean no sir. I'm just uh - I'm walking my friend home"

"Where's your friend?" the second officer asks

Just then, Knuckles appears from behind a dumpster. He stumbles forward, still shaken up from getting knocked out.

"Right here, officer" Manic says

"Huh?" Knuckles asks

"Yeah, we just left a party, he's not feeling so good. Thought he might puke so we stopped in this back alley" Manic lies

"Well, get him home. If we see you out here drunk again, we'll arrest you"

"You got it, officers. Have a great night" Manic says

He puts Knuckles' arm over his shoulder and holds him up "Come on, buddy. Let's get you home"

Knuckles glares at Manic as they walk "What is that thing?"

Manic looks down at his medallion necklace and grins "It's my lucky charm"

Knuckles waits til they turn the corner and watch the cops drive away. He pushes Manic off and leans against a wall.

"I still beat you. You just used a magic trick to knock me out" Knuckles says

"Whatever man. I can do it without my medallion" Manic says

"Next time you better hope that thing can save you from me"

Knuckles walks away from the corner and goes home, While Manic smirks and heads back to grab his bag on the alley roof.

* * *

Amy Rose sits on a brown couch and watches the news. More and more violence erupts in Metropolis and the police are hardly doing anything to stop it. The Pink Hedgehog changes the channel but it seems like everything she watches has something to do with the criminals in Metropolis.

She watches families and friends on the news asking for help, and no one does a thing. It's hard for her to not think about Sonic, but right now this is the only thing on Amy's mind. Finally, she decides she's going to help these victims, and stand up to the gangs.

Amy calls Tails to ask if he wants to come with her down to Metropolis.

"Hey Tails? It's Amy"

"Oh hey, how are you? it's been awhile since we talked" Tails replies

"Yeah it has, and I'm fine... Actually, I called because I want to know if you're doing anything this week" Amy says

"Well, I didn't have anything planned. Although, I was thinking of going to Metropolis"

"Yeah? Why are you going there?"

"Amy, I've been sitting at home doing nothing for too long. I heard there was trouble down there and well, no one's doing a thing about it. I want to get back out there and help those people, just like it used to be, you know?"

"Honestly, I was going down there to do the same thing. I called to see if you want to come" Amy says

"Hell yeah I wanna go. I'm glad you're still in the game. I know losing Sonic was hard on you, but I know he'd want us to keep going"

"Yeah.. Have you spoken to Knuckles lately?"

"I tried calling him but his phone is off. I was going to stop by his place, he lives near downtown in Metropolis" Tails says "But I can meet you there if you want"

"Yes, definitely. I'm heading down there tonight, how about we meet in the morning? we'll both go see Knuckles then"

"Sounds good. I'll call you when I get there. See you tomorrow morning, Amy"

"See you there"

She hangs up and starts packing a few traveling bags for the trip. She calls ahead to a local motel to book a room and then she jumps on a bus heading to the big city.

The next morning Tails shows up at Amy's motel room, he's staying in a room only 2 doors away from her. They catch up over breakfast, then lock up their rooms and head out to see Knuckles.

"Do you know exactly where his apartment is?" Amy asks as she walks

"I've been there once, it's not far from here" Tails replies "I just hope he's not boozing again. Last time he made me drink ALL night with him. There were some manly tears shed that time"

Amy laughs and follows the Fox through the back streets of Suburban Metropolis. After 10 minutes of walking, they reach the Echidna's place. It's a large Red building with two more apartments attached.

Tails knocks on the door and waits for an answer

Knuckles opens the door, holding an ice pack to his face and a massive black eye

"Hey Knux - OH MY GOD"

"Hey guys, come in. I don't want my neighbors seeing me all punched out" Knuckles says

The pink hedgehog and Fox step inside and sit on a black leather couch. Knuckles offers cans of beer but they decline.

"What brings you all the way out here?" Knuckles asks as he opens a can

"Well, you know there's been a rise in crime here. When Sonic died the gangs took advantage of that and now they're making big moves" Tails says

"Yeah, I noticed that. Oh, you guys came down here to help make a difference? I'm telling you right now, the way this city's in, there's no fixing that" Knuckles replies

"Families are being killed and terrorized by these thugs. We can't just sit back and let this happen" Amy says "We need your help"

Knuckles stands and sighs. He looks out his window, gun fire and police sirens are heard in the distance.

"...You're gonna need more than just me. These guys out here, they're not Eggman. These are sick bastards who don't care what happens or who dies"

"Do you know anyone up here who would join us?" Tails asks

Knuckles looks in a mirror for a moment

"This guy I know MIGHT join, or he might tell us to go to hell"

"Who?"

"The guy who did this to me. Sonic's brother"

"..he has a brother?" Tails asks

"And a sister"

Amy stands up "Where can we find him?"

"That's the problem. He's never in one spot for long. He's good at hiding and staying off the grid. But, he's a thief. I know where alot of them hangout, we can try looking there" Knuckles says

"Then let's go"

Knuckles finishes his beer and puts on a black hoodie and sun glasses to cover his black eye. He locks the apartment door and joins Tails and Amy as they head down to find Manic.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two: Old Friends_

Amy, Knuckles and Tails search the streets for Manic but aren't having much luck. Everywhere they go, there's no sign of the Green Hedgehog and no one knows where he is.

After an hour of this, Amy stops the trio to talk

"Hey, guys.. We might have better luck finding him if we split up. That way we can cover more ground, and call eachother's phones if we find him"

Tails looks around "..That makes sense. I'll patrol the sky"

"Sounds good to me. I'll keep my phone on in case I see him" Knuckles replies

"Alright, see you in a bit"

The three friends split up and head down different streets in search of Manic.

It's a little past Noon in the Financial district, Manic walks past the high society on the streets. Everyone wears fancy suits and business attire, while Manic wears Grey jeans, black jacket and shows off his forearm tattoos. He doesn't fit in with this crowd, and he's not trying to. The Green Hedgehog is pick pocketing "the rich folks", as he calls them.

He takes off into a long tunnel that goes back downtown, and he checks out his score. He looks through the wallets he stole and takes any cash inside. He goes to a local Lost and Found and dumps the wallets in a bucket, the workers here look at the I.D's and call them to say they have their wallet.

Manic gets back to a local Hangout for teenagers, although most of the kids in here are street criminals. Manic walks inside, fist bumps a few teens and sits on a bar stool at a table.

A short, brown female Hedgehog approaches his table and gives him a drink

"Hey Mickie, thanks" Manic says as he opens the can

"I heard you roughed up Jack last night" Mickie says "And you took his watch"

Manic rolls up his sleeve, removes the Gold Watch and gives it to Mickie

"You better believe I took it. When he robbed you, I knew I had to take something from him" Manic says

Mickie gives him a big hug "Thanks Manny, you're so good to me"

"Anything for you"

Jack walks into the Hangout, but he's not alone. A massive Polar Bear in Black gang clothes walks behind him, and a short female Hedgehog enters behind him. She has pink quills with Black highlights, thick black eyeliner and all Black clothes.

"Oh, shit. He brought Bark and Rosie" Mickie says

"Don't worry 'bout it, I got this. Take that Watch and go through the back" Manic replies

Jack points over to Manic's table, then the massive Polar Bear walks up. Manic takes a quick drink then he stands up, but this Bear is almost a foot taller. He's the one they call Bark.

"What's up, Sunshine" Manic says

"Yer scrawny ass jumped my friend and took his Watch? That's kinda hard to believe, don'tcha think? Look at this kid, he's just a tiny l'il guy" Bark responds in a thick Australian accent

Manic starts laughing hysterically at his accent while everyone stays silent

"Ah, yer laughin' at the way I talk. Betcha think this is funny" Bark says

"..What I don't get is you're a Polar Bear, but you've got an Australian accent!" Manic laughs "It's just a little distracting, y'know? You're trying to be tough, but (chuckles) ...okay, okay let's get back on track here"

Bark steps back and his pink hedgehog friend walks up to Manic next. She looks up and down at him, then smiles seductively. Her name is Rosie.

"This one's kinda cute" Rosie says "Let's see if he's smart, too"

Bark picks up Manic and slams him against a Wall, while everyone jumps up and pulls out their weapons.

"It's alright, guys. I got this" Manic says as he's held up off the ground

"I'll give you one chance to give back Jackie boys' Watch. If you don't, My big friend here will tear your head off" Rosie says "You look like a guy with at least half a brain. Come on, give it up"

Manic reaches into his pocket "Yeah, okay. I got something for ya"

The Green Hedgehog sticks his middle finger directly in Bark's face, and this angers the giant Polar Bear. Bark holds Manic up with one hand, and punches him in the body with some powerful strikes.

Manic's friends walk toward the Bear but again, he stops them from doing anything.

Rosie sighs and walks up "Alright, you don't wanna give it up, fine. I'll just take it"

Bark holds Manic up as Rosie walks underneath him to face the Green Hedgehog. She puts one hand on his chest and unzips his black jacket with the other. She sees the Jade Medallion he wears as a necklace and it starts glowing.

"Ooh, shiny"

Manic struggles to breathe "...I wouldn't touch that if I were you-"

Rosie grabs the Medallion, and a bright flash of Jade Green shines brightly. Its energy pushes her backwards and she knocks Bark down with her. The force of this knocks everyone and everything over, making a giant mess inside the lounge.

Manic lands on his feet and looks at the damage he just caused. His smile slowly goes away when he sees his friends are hurt as well. He zips up his jacket and takes off into the back streets.

Bark looks up at his gang "Dont let that punk escape! Chase 'em down!"

A small group of Bark's friends run out after Manic so he starts climbing up a nearby fire escape to get to the rooftop. He jumps from building to building but these guys are so fast that he can't lose them.

"Get off my ass, you _blokes!_ " Manic shouts

The rest of the gang surround every side of this building, blocking every exit. Manic stops when he reaches the edge. Rosie and Bark catch up, stand on the street Below and look up at him.

"You're screwed now" Rosie says

"You ain't gettin' out of this one!" Bark shouts "Boys, get up there and throw his ass down to the street!"

About 15 thugs climb up to the rooftop and walk towards the Green Hedgehog. He unzips his jacket and his Medallion glows for a second, then it shuts off

Manic grasps the Gem tightly "No, not now! Come on!"

Just before the gang swarm him, a Car Door is thrown at them and knocks everyone back.

Manic looks over and sees Knuckles climbing up the fire escape ladder

"Knucklehead, great to see ya" Manic says "Oh, that black eye is looking pretty gross"

"You're lucky we need to talk to you or else I'd pay you back for that"

A thug tries to climb up the roof and Manic stomps on his hands

" _We?_ "

Just then, Tails flies in from the highway bridge above this intersection. Knuckles rips an air duct off a pipe and throws it down at Bark's gang.

Another 25 gang members run up and surround the building

"Reinforcements are here!" Manic says

Knuckles looks at Tails "Only way out is up"

The Echidna grabs Tails' arm, and He extends his other to Manic. He just looks at Tails and Knuckles for a moment, he's never seen this Fox in his life

"Now would be a great time to go, if you don't mind" Tails says

"Manic, you can trust him" Knuckles adds

The Green Hedgehog finally grabs Tails' arm and he carries him and Knuckles off the rooftop. Bark tries throwing bricks at the trio but he can't reach them

"Gonna get you next time Manic, you punk ass!"

"Keep dreaming, **Aussie**!"

Tails flies them up about 60 feet and they reach a highway overpass. From there, the guys quickly take off down the road and into the Backstreets.

Manic looks at Tails "Who are you?"

"They call me Tails. Your brother was a good friend to me and Knuckles"

The Echidna pulls out his phone and calls Amy "Hey, it's me. Yeah we found him, but we're gonna be awhile. Yeah, go right ahead. I'll keep the door unlocked. Alright, cool"

"... Knux, how many of Sonic's old buddy's did you bring here?"

"I'll explain when we get to my place"

* * *

About an hour later Bark the Polar Bear and Rosie return to a large underground apartment they use as a hideout. As they walk downstairs, loud 90's Rap music plays and bright motion sensor lights turn on. They get to a locked gate, Bark types in a password on a small keyboard and the gate opens. They walk through a small tunnel and then reach the Apartment.

A Blue Hawk wearing a tank top and black jeans stands at a pool table and greets them. This is Predator Hawk.

"What's goin' on, guys" Hawk says as he sets up the pool table "Me and Sharp shooter here are about to play a round"

"Things didn't go down as planned out there" Bark says

A Tall, skinny Purple Weasel gets up from a leather couch and looks at the Polar Bear "What do you mean?"

"Nack, chill out. That punk Manic had backup that we didn't know about" Rosie says

Predator Hawk gives Nack a pool stick and lets him shoot first

"Who showed up?" Hawk asks

Bark faces him "It was those idiots Knuckles and Tails! L'il bugger came flyin' in from the highway above, man"

Nack quickly strikes the White cue ball and it knocks every other ball all over the table. He sinks 5 balls into different pockets and looks at the trio

"I thought they crawled away in some hole to cry after Sonic got wasted" Nack says

"Those guys aren't shit without their blue friend. Sonic MADE that team, he was the only one who could actually do anything" Hawk says as he strikes the cue ball "You could roll through all three of them by yourself, B. If they wanna get involved, they're going down too"

Rosie pulls out her phone and shows a video of Manic using his Jade Medallion. Hawk takes a shot on the pool table but misses then he looks at the video

"He's got a weapon that's indestructible. He turned that lounge into dust with that Gem" Rosie says

Hawk takes the phone and replays the video to see for himself. He smirks as he gets an idea

"Let's bring him onto the team"

Bark, Nack and Rosie turn and face Hawk at the same time

"What?"

"You said it yourself, this weapon can't be beat and you couldn't take it from Manic. So how about we offer him a spot" Hawk says

"...and how are we supposed to do that?" Rosie asks

"Easy, the kid's a thief. So we offer him some cash to get started, give him a few 'jobs' and gain his trust. Then when we find a way to take his Gem - boom! We take him out"

Bark crosses his arms and leans on a table "Come on, P.H... if he's anything like his brother, Manic won't join. The l'il bugger might be a criminal, but he'll always be one of THEM"

"Manic knows what game we're playing, the risks and rewards. Deep down, he won't ever leave the Underground. Think of it this way: There's a reason why he and Sonic fought. Brothers or not, they're on different sides. One side is The Law, and the other is our side. I guarantee Manic would choose our side anyway"

"...do you really think he'll join so easily?" Rosie asks

"Course I do. He's smart enough to know which is the winning team" Hawk says "Besides, If he declines then we've got the perfect response for him and his little Gem"

Nack strikes the cue ball and it goes around the pool table, knocking every single ball into each pocket.

" _...The Man who never misses_ "

The room goes silent as Nack puts on a dark Brown leather jacket. He loads a clip into each of his Handguns and tucks them away in holsters, hidden by his jacket.

"Let's go talk to him"

* * *

Back in Knuckles' apartment, Tails sits on his friends' couch while Manic stands at the door, leaning against it.

"That was some superhero stuff back there, boys" Manic says "Hey Knux, got anything to drink? I'm dryer than your mom on a Monday afternoon"

The Echidna walks in and throws a can to Manic

"Cold Beer? sweet!"

As he drinks, his Jade Medallion glows brighter and can be seen from under his jacket

"What is that? Tails asks

Manic unzips his jacket "It's a special Medallion, Knuckles knows what it can do. Look at him, he's more bruised than the last time his mom took the raging bull"

"You can stop with the 'Your Momma' jokes anytime now" Knuckles says

"I'm on a bit of a roll so they're gonna keep coming"

"Well, how come you're only on me?"

"Because I don't know him yet. Speaking of which, What'd you say your name was?"

"I'm Tails, birth name Miles Prower"

"Ah, I shoulda guessed" Manic says as he sits down "Sonic talked about you - like, alot. No offense but man, I got sick of hearing that. You weren't dating him, were you?"

"What? No!"

"'Cuz if you were, that's cool. Everyone goes through a phase..."

"Manic, I never dated your brother! I had a girlfriend for awhile, Knuckles knows!"

The Echidna laughs and takes a drink of his beer, then Amy Rose walks into the apartment. She's wearing a bright Red Dress and gets everyone's attention, especially Manic's.

"Whoa, hello to you" Manic says "I'm Manic, these are my two Lackeys Rufus and Jimbob"

"She's with us, jackass" Knuckles says

"I'm Amy. I dated your brother before he died"

"Funny, we were just talking about Sonic's past relationships" Manic says as he looks at Tails ".. Here take my seat, beautiful"

"Uh, Thanks but I need to change out of this dress, it's super tight. I just came back from a rooftop party" Amy says

"What, you went to a party and didn't bring me? Not Cool, Rose" Tails says

"You wouldn't have liked it, some fancy dinner party with the workers at that Business Tower downtown. They showed off some expensive cars and trucks. Real high class"

"You went to an Auto Showing? Dammit, you should've brought me!"

"Well, I found out there's a guy whose got a strong hold on these businesses, and a big street gang. His name is Predator Hawk" Amy says

"Huh, I bought a gun off him once" Manic says "... what? I was into some serious shit back before I got my medallion back.. Relax, I didn't shoot anyone! I just needed it to give a couple guys a good scare"

"...Anyway, Hawk is starting to get big in this city. The girl I talked to said he's the leader of a crime syndicate, and he's connected with other gangs in Metropolis. There are Four main gangs, and each leader is in this Elite faction called Hazard. I don't know who the other three are, just Hawk"

"So you got into this fancy party, somehow, and some girl you ran into just so happened to pass this information to you?" Knuckles asks

"She told me to meet her there, because it was a crowded place. She knows alot about Hazard, but she's a little paranoid they might get to her" Amy replies

"What's this girl's name?" Tails asks

"Mickie"

Manic looks at Amy "...is she a short, brown haired hedgehog girl? With a Gold Watch?"

"Yeah, that's her. Do you know Mickie?"

"Guys, I gotta go. She's a close friend and if this story is true, than I gotta go see her right away"

"Wait, Manic" Amy says "We need your help to fight these guys"

"Look, Amy - You can't fight Hawk. He ALONE has too much power. I know because I used to work for him... the best thing to do is let these guys do there thing til the cops have to get involved" Manic says

"We're not just gonna sit back and let him kill families and take over the city. Somebody's gotta stand up to Hazard"

Manic stops at the door and turns around "The three of you? Man... there's no other way to put it - Without Sonic, you guys can't save anyone. With or without my help, we couldn't do a thing... Even Knuckles' mom knows that"

Knuckles takes off his Spiked glove and gives Manic the middle finger as he closes the door behind him. Amy and Tails sit in silence while Knuckles opens another can of beer.

"That went as well as I expected" Knuckles says "The little prick is still the same punk he's always been; only out for himself"

"He'll change his mind. If he is Sonic's brother, he'll fight this" Amy says

Tails stands up "Hopefully, you're right... But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. He's nothing like Sonic. This guy's something else, Amy"

Tails leaves the living room, while Knuckles turns on some music as he drinks. Amy unzips the back of her Dress and walks upstairs to change.

Manic hurries back to the lounge, but he doesn't realize what's waiting for him.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three: Impact_

Half an hour after he left Knuckles' apartment, Manic reaches the Lounge he hangs out at. His Medallion nearly destroyed the inside when he fought off Bark and Rosie, so he has to walk into ruble.

He gets inside and sees the owner sweeping up chunks of broken glass and wood. Manic approaches him, feeling bad about what he did

"Barney, I'm so sorry about earlier" Manic says "I swear I'll pay for the damage and help cleanup"

"Don't worry about it, kid. Im used to this crap" Barney says "I think you have other things to watch out for"

He points over to the other side of the lounge, Predator Hawk sits at a table around the corner.

"He came here with a crew, 3 others. They're looking for you" Barney says "Be careful, kid"

Manic nods at the old man and walks over to Hawk's table. He's drinking a beer and signals Manic to sit in a chair across from him.

"... My friends didn't wanna sit in this destroyed shit hole so they went for a walk. But I like this place, got a lot of memories from back in my teenage years. So I don't mind sitting in this mess to wait for you, just needed a drink to keep me cool"

"You got something to say to me?" Manic asks

"Yeah, I have a few things on my mind. But I'll start with this: Join my crew"

"... What?"

"You heard me. I know what that little Gem around your neck can do, so obviously I'm not gonna mess with that. But I'm not dumb, either. You've got the skill to be the best at what you do, and I can make you rich if you use those skills to help me. Whaddya say?"

Manic thinks for a moment "... I'm flattered and all, but I'm not much of a 'team player'. I got a similar offer less than an hour ago. Told 'em to shove it up their ass. Guess what I'm about to tell you"

Hawk sits back in his chair "Manny, I don't usually give anyone chances, but me and you have history. We used to be friends... Do you know what it's like to be rich? You feel like you've got so much that, it's too much. The fact that I'm only 21 and I've got this much is unheard of. You helped me get here way back in the day, so that's why I'm offering you this chance. Don't make a jerk outta me"

"Y'know, I probably would believe this bullshit story if I didn't know you. You're a liar, backstabber and generally an all around Prick. So I'll tell you again: Screw off"

Hawk sighs and signals his friends to come in with a hand gesture. Manic turns around and watches Rosie, Bark and Nack walk inside and surround him. Bark pushes Barney out and locks the door.

"Ya made the wrong choice, ya bloke" Bark says

Instantly, Manic's medallion starts glowing and he stands up "You wanna go round two, Aussie?"

Nack the Weasel pulls out a pistol and aims it at Manic

"I know that Gem gives you strength, but I'm willing to bet it can't protect you from a Six shooter" Hawk says "What kind of bullets did you bring for Manic?"

" _Silver Bullets_ " Nack answers

"Ah, yes. Same kind that took down Metal Sonic. I'd be intimidated if a Weasel Cowboy was pointing that barrel at me"

Manic turns to Bark first "So what, you're gonna keep me here against my will?"

"Until you agree to my terms, or 'til Big Bark beats you to death. So be a good boy and toss the Gem, or Nack will put a couple holes in you"

Manic's medallion starts to fade but he doesn't take it off. He puts his hands up and faces the giant Polar Bear.

* * *

Tails eats a chilli dog and walks into the living room. Knuckles sits back in his reclining chair, a few empty beer cans scattered around him.

"Knux, are - are you drunk?" Tails asks

"Me? Drunk? No! ... maybe. shut up Tails!" Knuckles responds

The Echidna gets up, finishes his beer and stumbles towards Tails. He grabs him by the shirt and back of the head

"Ow! Knux, stop! What're you doing?! Ouch! Come on, knock it off!"

"I'm gonna show you some moves, they might save you in a fight out there"

"I already know how to fight, Knux. Stop being a dick!"

"Show me what you know"

Tails ducks under his arms, turns around and hits Knuckles with a back spin kick. The Echidna backs up and grasps his chest

"Is that all you got? Come on!"

"Knux, I don't wanna fight you-"

Knuckles runs up in a boxing stance and throws some punches, and Tails dodges all of them. The Fox jumps off the couch, lifts his knee and hits Knuckles in the face. At the same time, Knux reaches up and punches Tails in the head. Both of them go down after they get hit

Tails grasps his face and looks over at Knuckles. He lays in pain but laughs it off.

"I guess you do got some skill, kid" Knuckles says

He fist bumps Tails and both guys lay on the floor. Amy comes downstairs and looks at her friends

"I hope you're done being idiots. Manic's in trouble at the Lounge, let's go"

Knuckles gets up first and helps Tails to his feet as well. They grab their gear and head out to save the Green Hedgehog.

* * *

Bark pushes Manic backwards and Rosie kicks him in the face as she jumps off a wall. He groans in pain, but keeps fighting. He stands up, Nack kicks him in the ribs and Bark grabs him by the throat. He lifts him up and slams him as hard as he can, then Rosie stomps on him just for good measure.

Hawk sits back and sips on his drink "..All this can stop if you give up the Gem, Manic"

He spits out blood and looks up "You want the Gem, alright. I'm done screwing around"

The Medallion glows bright green and Manic jumps to his feet. Nack aims his Gun but Manic kicks it away and starts beating him down. Bark picks up a chair and breaks it over his head, but this only angers the Green Hedgehog. He punches Bark in the chest and he flies backwards.

Rosie runs at him and kicks but misses, then he pushes her away and goes for Hawk.

"Stop, just wait a sec! Let's talk this out!" Hawk shouts

"You really think we're gonna talk this out?"

Manic kicks Hawk in the body and he is knocked back into a wall. Before he can do anything else, Manic gets shot in the back and drops to one knee.

"Stay down, kid. Only time I'll say it" Nack warns

Manic's eyes turn white and his medallion heals him. Pure rage goes through him and he jumps up to finish his enemies.

Amy, Knuckles and Tails get down the street from the Lounge as this is going on.

"I hope we're not too late" Amy says

"I'm sure he's fine, Ames. The little bastard seems like he can handle himself" Knuckles replies

Just then Nack is smashed through the front door and the Jade Medallion shines brightly inside.

"Yeah, looks that way" Tails says

He and Knuckles run in first, while Amy takes Nack's guns away from him. Manic doesn't notice Tails and Knux trying to help him, He's just attacking everyone he sees.

"Hey, it's us!" Knuckles says "Chill out, man!"

Manic let's out a roar and keeps fighting. Rosie picks up Hawk and Bark kicks open the back door. They escape in a car that Nack is driving, leaving The friends to deal with Manic in this rage mode.

Tails holds his legs down while Knuckles grabs his arms, but Manic easily gets loose. He spin kicks Tails and punches Knuckles in the face.

Manic turns around and Amy Faces him

 _ **Stop!**_

Slowly he lowers his fists and his bright Medallion necklace fades. Manic's energy is drained and he is about to pass out. Amy catches him before he falls down and helps him to the floor.

"He's shot, we need to take him to the hospital" Amy says

Manic opens his eyes and looks up "...No, not the hospital. The cops'll pick me up"

"We're not gonna sit here and watch you bleed out" Knuckles says

"Take my phone, call Mickie. She's got a place we can go. Call her"

Amy reaches into Manic's pocket and takes his phone as he closes his eyes and passes out.

* * *

Nack The Weasel drives the getaway car into an underground parking garage. He, Rosie, Bark and Hawk step out and get into a large service elevator.

Hawk grasps his ribs tightly "That punk really hit me hard, damn!..."

"It was that stupid Gem! Without it he's nothin'!" Bark shouts

"That bullet should've dropped him, that's insane" Nack adds

"That thing is too much" Rosie says "We need to take that Gem from him"

Hawk punches the wall "We're gonna destroy it, and then him"

"How? You saw that thing for yourself, we can't do nothin' to him!" Bark yells "Hit him with a chair, he shakes it off. Shoot him, the l'il bastard goes _Super Sayian_! He's damn near invincible with his Medallion"

The Chrome Elevator Doors open up and Hawk leads Hazard down a White Hallway. They enter an office, security monitors and screens show every Room in this building.

Bark and Rosie watch a security camera inside a computer lab. The Technical support team is working on a Giant Blackbox with flashing lights

"What is all this?" Rosie asks

"A G.U.N team took possession of Eggman's assets, his Labs, hidden bunkers and **ALL** of his technology. A few of my guys just robbed G.U.N of everything and stashed it in Four separate bases" Hawk explains "I want all of you to look after one Base each"

"Why?"

"I may have underestimated Manic's friends, just a little bit... so, this is my answer to that. With one of us focusing on one of them at a time, it'll be easier to take 'em out, right? So when we beat them, we'll show everyone those four are nothing. _Nobodies_ "

Nack smirks at this and takes a seat at a desk "...So, whose taking on who?"

Hawk leans against the wall and grins

"Bark, I want you to take Knuckles. You're the only one of us who's beaten him in a fight. Rosie, You've got Amy. She's the weakest one of them. Nack, you're taking Manic. I've got something that'll help you compete with his Medallion. And I've got Tails"

"How come you're fighting him and we get the tough guys?" Bark asks

"Tails might still be just a kid, but he's smart when it comes to machines. He beat the Babylon Rogues, for Christ sakes. But we're not them. I showed those punks how to work their Hover Boards, and I can match Tails with technology. So I'm taking him on. Any other questions?"

No one says a word

"Great, then let's get to work"

* * *

Amy leads her friends into a medium sized warehouse on the edge of town. Knuckles helps Manic onto a work desk and his Medallion starts to heal him once again. Tails looks around at all the equipment in here, these are tools he uses in his workshop back home.

"Is this a repair shop?" The Fox asks

"Yeah, it is - Ouch!" Manic says as he sits up "..I'm a mechanic, I fix stuff, when I'm feeling generous"

"Same here, man... Sonic was never really good with tools, always got me to look at whatever he found"

"What kinda machines do you fix?"

"Anything with wheels, a big engine or wings. Vehicles of any kind, heavy ones" Tails replies

"Right on, dude... Hey Knux! What time is it?"

The Echidna looks at his watch "3:29"

"Aw, crap! I gotta go" Manic says

Just then, his friend Mickie enters the warehouse

"You're not going anywhere" Mickie says "Not while those douchebags are out looking to shoot everyone of you"

"What do you mean? Hawk and his friends? Shit, I'm not scared of them, I've got this" Manic pulls out his medallion

Amy stands in front of the Green Hedgehog and crosses her arms "Y'know, we've all seen what that can do.. but now's the time you tell us what it **REALLY** is"

"It's just a Medallion that gives me energy, alright?"

"Your _Energy_ there almost killed everyone inside that lounge. Tell us what that thing is"

Manic stands up and his Gem starts to glow Jade Green "You're not taking this away from me, I'll tell you right now. Just back off!"

Tails and Knuckles stand on opposite sides of him just in case this gets out of control.

"Manic, no one's taking anything from you okay? Just calm down and relax" Tails says

"You guys are creeping up like you're about to jump me... I got trust issues, let's just leave it at that" Manic says "The last time I trusted someone, they took this Medallion and almost killed me. So forgive me if I'm a bit jumpy right now"

Tails faces Manic with his hands up, not trying to startle him "Look man, we know we can't take that thing from you, alright? We just wanna know what it is"

Manic sighs and calms down. He leans against the work desk and looks up "My mom gave me, Sonic and our sister Sonia these Medallions. _Jade, Sapphire_ and _Crystal._ They give us 'abilities', like strength, a healing factor and even Speed like Sonic's... but it don't last long. I was the only one who didn't have a specific ability, until I messed around with my medallion. Now, I can do all this.. others tried to take it from me, and I almost killed them on accident. That's why Hawk wants me on his side, and I'm guessing that's why you guys do as well"

The room stays silent and Manic scoffs to himself

"That's all everybody wants to do, **use me**. See, that's why I'm not taking a side. If anything, I'm on my own side... I can handle myself just fine without any of you so stay out of my way"

Tails stands in front of the Green Hedgehog and faces him

"I know you feel that way but Manic, innocent people are dying. Families, kids. It's only a matter of time before the ones we care about get it next. We need your help"

Manic smirks at the Fox "Y'know, these ' _innocent families_ ' laugh and call me a freak every day. To hell with them, Tails. Let this place burn to the ground. I don't care about anyone of them"

"I told you, kid. Manic's still the same, doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself" Knuckles growls

"You're damn right about that!" Manic shouts back "I'm not Sonic, alright? I'm not a hero, and I'm not saving anyone. Who was there for me when I needed help the most? NOBODY! So all of you can go to hell!"

Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Mickie watch as Manic's medallion starts beating in rhythm with his heart, flickering on and off

"Manic, I think the medallions' energy is affecting your head" Amy says

"Yeah, so what? If it kills me, well.. that's my problem"

"You need to take a break from that thing, man" Tails says "I swear, we don't wanna take it away from you, we can't even use it.. but you gotta take it off, just for a little while"

"Manny, listen to them" Mickie says

The Green Hedgehog looks down at his Gem, the Jade Green light slowly fades. He walks up to Tails and punches him in the face

"I'm not going through that again. You want me to take it off, come get it"

Tails recovers and hits Manic with some counter punches, forcing him backwards. The Fox ducks a few punches, steps to the right and hits Manic with an elbow strike to the face.

"Argh! Damnit!" Manic shouts in pain

Tails pushes him against a wall and holds his arms down "Manic, stop! I don't wanna do this!"

"Too late, Prower"

The Green Hedgehog headbutts Tails and kicks him in the chest. He runs at Tails and spin kicks him in the head, knocking the Fox to the floor.

Manic jumps up for a foot stomp but Knuckles punches him in mid air and he hits the ground.

"Real easy to beat someone up when you've got that Gem, you cheap punk. Try that Kung Fu shit on me!"

"I'll knock you out **WITHOUT** my medallion this time, knucklehead"

Manic jumps up but Tails grabs his foot, keeping him in the same spot. As Manic kicks his hand off, Amy swings her Giant Hammer and knocks him backwards. He hits his head against a concrete wall and gets knocked out.

Tails walks to him, grabs the necklace chain and rips it off Manic's neck.

"...Let him sleep it off. Keep this safe, Amy. Don't touch the Gem, just the chain"

Tails goes to the washroom to wash the blood off his face, while Knuckles steps outside, and Amy puts the Medallion on a table and sits down. Mickie puts a pillow under Manic's head and everyone stays silent.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four: Attitude_

 **2 HOURS LATER**

Manic wakes up and looks around "...Damn, my head hurts!... Hey, anybody here?"

Tails pulls two chairs up "Yeah, I'm here"

The Fox extends his hand to Manic and helps him up to his feet. They walk to the two chairs and sit down

"You alright?" Tails asks

"I'm fine... sorry about earlier, bro.. Sometimes I can't - I don't know, I lose my shit when it comes to my medallion. I never admitted it but, yeah that thing **IS** screwing my head up. I'm glad you guys took it off me, I know I wouldn't have done it"

"There's always a catch with these things, I've come to understand. Y'know, my two tails wouldn't move for the first 5 years of my life? Everyone made fun of me, bullies beat me up.. But Sonic stood up for me, and helped me learn to fly. Then, I was one of the cool kids with him, Amy, Knuckles and the rest of my friends"

"Sounds like a cheesy Movie ending, dude" Manic jokes "..I'm glad Sonic was a brother to someone. I always loved my bro, but me and him couldn't agree on anything. Most of my memories of him are us fighting. But we made our peace eventually"

Manic looks out a window to see the outside "..Where is everyone?"

"Knuckles took Amy and Mickie to the Bar, left us some money to order a pizza or something"

The Green Hedgehog stands up, zips up his black jacket and pulls a dark grey vest over top. He rolls up the sleeves, revealing graffiti-like tattoos on his left forearm.

"Where's my medallion?"

"I told Amy to hang onto it for awhile" Tails replies

"Cheap!... Wanna go on a dangerous adventure?" Manic asks

"You mean like _Uncharted_?"

"Actually - Yeah, pretty much"

"I was just kidding man, I can't steal anything" Tails says

"Relax, we're picking up Sonic and Sonia's Medallions. I left them in a lock box in my hideout"

"Oh, well sure. But we gotta be fast, They said they'll be back soon"

"Dude, this'll take 10 minutes. I just need a ride up to this mountain side"

Tails looks at Manic for a moment "What do you mean, **UP?** "

Manic throws a black backpack at the Fox and smirks

"Tails, my friend.. Where we're going, we don't need roads... plus, there'll be girls there"

"I feel like you stole that line from a movie - oh, right. The girls. Yeah, I'm in"

* * *

Inside a very large Bar and Grill, Amy sits at a high table with Knuckles and their new friend Mickie. This Bar has an Old West theme going on tonight, so everything looks old fashioned. The girls are enjoying their drinks, but Knuckles isn't very fond of his.

"This garbage is supposed to be Beer? Man, this stuff is gross! I'm going up to see what else they've got"

The Echidna walks away from the high table and makes his way through a big crowd. Meanwhile, Amy sits with Mickie to talk about Hazard.

"You said something about Hawk being the leader of an old gang, and his three associates are gang leaders as well" Amy says

"Yeah, Hawk used to run the Babylon Rogues. Bark the Polar Bear leads a biker gang, Nack has a crew that hides from the public. And Rosie knows a gang of weirdos called 'Angel's Flock', some goth shit" Mickie says

"That girl always struck me as _weird_..."

"You met Rosie before?"

"Unfortunately, yes. She used to have this - magic spell or something like that. Anyway, it's a spell that makes anyone fall in love with her, and she used it on Sonic. She got him to do anything she wanted, steal from or attack anyone. Luckily we snapped him out of it and the police took care of Rosie.. til now, obviously"

Mickie looks over and sees something that startles her. She hides her face behind a food menu, then Amy turns around to see what it is.

Nack the Weasel walks into the Bar, buys a drink and leans against the bar stand. His cowboy hat hides his face, and everyone keeps drinking. No one noticed a hired killer just walked in, or they don't want to say anything _out of fear_.

"That's one of them, Amy! Him!" Mickie fearfully says "That's Nack, Hazard's assassin"

"Go find Knuckles and stay with him. I'm gonna have a chat with John Marston here" Amy replies

Mickie takes off into the crowd and Amy approaches The Cowboy. She thinks of a way to start a conversation with him as she walks up.

"Hey there, friend" Amy says with a big smile

Nack looks up at the Pink hedgehog

"Have we met before?"

"Course we did, silly! Remember yesterday at the lounge? ..Hey, my favorite song is on, let's go dance" Amy says

"Uh - I don't dance, lady" Nack quietly says

"Come on, cowboy. Loosen up for once, we're in a bar. Let's go"

Amy grabs Nack's hand and takes him onto the dance floor. A slow song is playing so everyone else is slow dancing along. The Cowboy puts one hand on Amy's waist and she holds his other hand.

"...Amy Rose, right?" Nack asks "I knew I saw you before. I just didn't recognize you because you're all dressed up tonight. You're looking great, by the way"

"And I'm sure you remember what my friends look like, Cowboy. You're an assassin for Hawk. You've had a big hand in the murders in this city. Yeah, I know about you, too" Amy responds ".. does _murdering_ someone make you feel like a big man, Nack?"

"Lady, it's just a job"

"Yeah, I'm sure all those husbands, wives and children your gang's killed thought of it that way, too. What you guys do is steal and kill for money, and those victims you leave behind are families that have nothing to do with this-"

"Yeah, and what are you guys? The last heroes in the world coming to save everyone? Here's a fun fact: You guys are **NOTHING** without Sonic. There's always gonna be bad guys like me running around. So don't come up to me and act all high and mighty. Face it, lady. You can't win"

Nack lets go and walks off of the dance floor. Amy walks the opposite way and grabs her purse.

* * *

Way out on the other side of town, Tails flies up the side of an old Mountain. He holds Manic by the arm and they reach a cliff, hundreds of feet above the city. The Green Hedgehog pushes open two massive doors and they both walk inside the mountain.

"Has to be the creepiest looking hideout ever, huh" Tails says as he walks through the entrance

"Shit, you wanna see something creepy? My ex girlfriend, she's a freak!" Manic replies

"Well, if she dated you, there **HAS** to be something weird about her, hehe"

Manic punches Tails in the arm "Screw you too, Prower. Just follow me"

As the guys get further and further inside the hideout, their voices start to echo and other creatures are heard. Manic turns on his phone's flashlight to see through the darkness. Finally they reach a metal crate that's covered in dirt.

"Here we are. Hold my phone, Prower" Manic orders

Tails shines the light on the crate and Manic breaks the locks off. He opens the lid and finds nothing inside.

"...No, no that's ... NO! Where the hell are they?! Argh, DAMNIT!"

Tails tries to calm him down but Manic pushes him off and walks away. He punches the oil slicked wall and shouts in anger.

"I'm sure we'll find them, Manic. Let's just head back to the warehouse" Tails says

"...I know you mean well, but _none_ of this would've happened if you guys just left me alone. You took my medallion, now I lost the other two.. Please, just - leave me alone"

Manic walks out of the hideout and takes off into the city, far from the warehouse. He's got a little bit of cash so he's going to get a drink.

The neon signs turn on as the Sun sets over Metropolis. The night clubs start to fill up with college kids and young adults looking forward to the weekend. Manic hangs out with some of his old friends from high school and continues drinking.

He leaves the Club early and heads down Neon Alley, a big spot for street kids, illegal gambling and plenty of fights. He knows pretty much everyone here so he feels safe walking alone.

"Hey Manic!" a female voice calls out

He turns to face this girl and immediately he recognizes Rosie standing on a rooftop.

"How you feeling? Having a great night?" She says

"Ah, shit!"

Manic takes off running and a gang of 20 thugs start chasing him down the alley. He jumps over a few parked cars and looks for an escape, only to find a Gothic gang blocking this exit. He runs to the next one but a gang of Skaters stand in his way. He's completely surrounded.

Manic laughs nervously as he looks at how many thugs are standing around him. Rosie looks down from the rooftop and grins.

"Not so tough without your medallion, eh!" Rosie shouts

"Well, it sure would help in this situation.. but I don't need it for you punks! Bring it on!" Manic growls

"You heard him, boys! _**Waste Him**_ "

Manic starts swinging at everyone in sight, hitting guys in the face and knocking them back. But he's getting hit on every side so it's pretty tough to fight this off. He sees an opening: Manic ducks under the fists, slides across the street and gets away from the gangs for a moment.

He jumps up, rips a neon sign off a store and uses it as a weapon. He hits thugs in the head as he swings, but eventually it's taken away from him. Manic head kicks a thug and starts running away.

He's out running everyone and he's about to escape Neon Alley, so he turns around to gloat

"Sorry boys, not tonight! You can't take me out, bitches! I'm Manic the Hedge-"

Manic is hit by a car mid sentence and he flips over the windshield. He lands on the concrete hard and grasps his ribs.

"Okay, fair enough. That wasn't too smart..."

He puts his hands up to block himself as the gangs walk toward him. Just then, a loud explosion erupts in the middle of the street.

Tails flies down to the street "Now, y'all wanna tell me what you're doing to my Green friend, here?"

Manic grins at the Fox and he helps him to his feet.

"I brought this thing just in case" Tails says

He hands Manic his Jade Medallion and instantly it starts to heal him.

"The Police are on their way, meaning we've got _3 minutes_ to get outta here"

"Three minutes, huh" Manic replies

They look at each other, then at the gang. Manic fist bumps Tails and they walk back into the fight.

Manic easily knocks everyone back with his Medallions energy. Tails watches his back and practices his spin kicks on some thugs. When more thugs surround them, Tails picks Manic up and they fly onto a rooftop and take the fight above the street.

"Gonna regret coming down here, boys!" Manic shouts as he fights "Me and T are here in full force, now"

Tails dodges a head kick "You'd think these guys would give up after seeing 10 punks get knocked out"

Rosie looks on at Manic and Tails' display. When she sees more and more members of her gang go down, she gives up and leaves Neon Alley.

Tails looks over and sees police lights pop up around the alley

"Cops are here! Let's go!"

Manic hits a thug with a jumping knee strike and watches him to fall off the roof and onto more thugs. He grabs Tails' arm and they fly into the sky as the police show up.

"That was pretty cool, bro! ..Maybe I was wrong about you" Manic says

Tails looks at him "About?"

"About you being a lightweight. I thought you were just _all brains, no muscle_ "

"After Sonic passed, I learned how to fight so I could defend myself. Guess I'm starting to get pretty good"

"Right on, dude. Hey, let's stop at the Pizza shop. I'm hungry as hell"

Tails flies high above the streets, while Manic hangs onto his forearm and looks out at the colourful city.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five: Friends in Need_

Later that same night Knuckles, Amy and Mickie leave the Bar they were at and are now walking through Ox Park, the biggest park in the city. They walk on a brick pathway, illuminated by tall trees with LED lights hanging from their branches. The Echidna pulls out a can of Beer and sneaks in a few drinks as he walks in front of the girls.

Amy looks at him "..Really?"

"We don't get to pick the things that heal us, lady. Whatever does the job, works for me"

"Anyway, I spoke with our friend Nack. He's... interesting. Basically, I was told to screw off or he'll shoot me"

"That's an odd pick up line, don't you think?" Knuckles asks "Usually guys go with something like 'baby you're so fine, my HDTV don't even look that _good_ ', or some dumb shit like that"

Amy and Mickie laugh together "Is that the pickup line you use?"

"Lady, I don't need any pickup lines. Girls take one look at me and come runnin'. Trust me, it's worked more times than you think"

"Whatever you say, Knux"

The trio walk a few more feet and suddenly Mickie stops, confusing Amy and Knuckles

"What is it?" Amy asks

"It's _**Hazard**_ "

Knuckles chugs the rest of his beer and looks up "Those punks aren't scaring me, and they're not getting in our way. I'll clear a path if I gotta"

"Knuckles, wait!" Amy shouts

As the Echidna walks closer, Rosie points at him and her friends walk over. Knuckles is ready for a fight, and tonight he's getting one.

"Eh! Dont'cha know this ain't Furry Forrest? Ya can't just waltz in here, mate!" Bark shouts

"Nice accent, what is that? Australian?" Knuckles asks

Before the Polar Bear can reply, he's knocked down by a powerful punch from Knuckles. Nack pulls out his two pistols and aims them at the angry Echidna

"What're you gonna do, shoot me? Better not miss, then!"

"I never miss"

Amy stands beside Knuckles and faces off with Rosie

"Hey Amy, it's been awhile" Rosie says with a smile

"It doesn't surprise me that a skank like you is working with an Assassin and - uh, ..a Big, Australian Polar Bear" Amy responds

"How come he gets a cool name like 'The Assassin' and I'm just 'A big Australian Polar Bear'?" Bark asks as he stands up

"Shut up, you idiot!" Nack shouts

"He's right. Less talking, more fighting" Knuckles says

* * *

(The song " _Nobody but You_ " by The Black Keys plays on a radio)

Manic sits on a large stool inside a pizza shop, looking out at the streets through a large window. He eats his pizza quietly and listens to the radio. Tails walks inside and sits on the Stool beside the Green Hedgehog.

"I tried calling Amy and Knuckles but they're not answering for some reason" Tails says

"It's Friday night, dude. They're probably having a good time in a Bar" Manic replies "You gotta try this Meatlovers pizza, bro. This is some damn good stuff"

"Maybe after, I'm not hungry right now"

"Whatever, man. You're missing out"

The Jade Medallion necklace starts shining intensely, to the point where it's almost blinding

Tails shields his eyes "Manic, that thing's starting to get really bright. Is that normal?"

"Yeah, it's just because I'm eating a big meal-"

Manic stops mid sentence, a few voices echo through his ears. He listens closely: It's Amy and Knuckles' voices

 **K** : _Is that all you got, you big bitch?!_

 **Unknown voice** : _I'll show you what I've got!_

 **A** : _Stop!_

 _ ***Gunshot***_

Manic gets out of his seat "Amy and Knuckles are getting shot at, let's move!"

"Where?"

"I don't know but I can hear them"

"You have super hearing?" Tails asks

"That's not important right now. Fly me in the air, I might be able to hear them better" Manic replies

The Fox grabs Manic's forearm and they fly 30 feet into the sky. Manic listens closely to try and locate his friends

"... **Ox Park** , west of here. Let's go!"

The guys fly off towards the park, meanwhile Knuckles fights with Bark. Rosie jumps on his back and starts scratching and clawing at his eyes, so Amy throws her off and fights her.

Nack grabs Mickie and puts the gun to her "You've been an incredible pain in my ass, I'm getting rid of you right now"

"Wait! Before you pull that trigger, I want you to know that I know about _The Black Project_ , I have evidence! If you shoot me, G.U.N will receive the evidence and you'll get life in prison!" Mickie shouts

Nack hesitates "... You really should stay out of our business, little girl"

Just as Nack pulls the trigger, Tails drops Manic from the sky and he punches the Weasel in the head, instantly knocking him out. Mickie falls to the ground, blood flows from a gunshot wound

Manic puts pressure on her wound "Mick, stay awake! Don't close your eyes, just stay with me!"

"...Manic?... Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me! Just stay awake, Mickie!"

Knuckles and Bark keep fighting, while Amy throws Rosie around. Police sirens sound out from every direction

Tails flies up "The cops have the whole park surrounded!"

Manic cradles Mickie and picks her up "She's gonna bleed out if the cops get to us. Keep them off me"

The Fox is about to argue this decision, until Manic gives him a stern look. Tails nods at his friend and lets him take off into the darkness.

Tails looks over "Amy, go with them. Make sure she doesn't die"

"I'm not leaving you guys!" Amy shouts

"She needs your help more than we do. We'll be alright"

The pink Hedgehog hesitates, then she follows Manic into the darkness. Tails flies up and looks at the cops

" **OVER HERE, YOU PIGS! BRING IT ON!** "

Knuckles and Bark kick eachother in the chest and they both fall down. Tails lands on the ground and helps his friend up, while Bark slowly gets back to his feet

"Two on One? No problem!" Bark shouts

Knuckles holds his ribs in pain "This guy's pretty good"

"I thought you could beat him?" Tails asks

"That was before. I'm starting to get old"

"Dude, you're not even 25"

"I age faster than you punk kids"

Tails and Knuckles stand back-to-back and get ready as Bark, Nack and Rosie surround them. Before the inevitable happens, Blue and Red lights flash and the familiar sound of Sirens blare out. 20 police officers surround the group and order everyone to get on the ground.

Rosie, Bark and Nack lay down first and are arrested. Knuckles and Tails remain standing, until 5 officers force them to the ground and arrest them.

Amy watches from far away as her friends are handcuffed and thrown into the back of a police cruiser. She curses to herself and takes off into the back streets.

 **THE NEXT DAY**

Amy shows up to the downtown Metropolis Police Station at 8 AM. She's here to bail Tails and Knuckles out of jail.

The pink Hedgehog walks in and Mighty the Armadillo stops her at the front office

"Amy Rose, you look great" Mighty greets

"Save it, M. I'm just here to pick up my friends" Amy responds as she walks past him

"Good seeing you, too.. Hey Amy, you don't have to bail anyone out"

Amy looks over to a big Jail Cell in the corner. Tails sits on a bench next to Knuckles and 2 other inmates. A guard opens the gate and the Fox walks out first.

"Are you alright? Nobody hurt you, did they?" Amy asks

"I'm fine, Amy. Everything's cool" Tails replies

Knuckles stays seated on the bench and the guard closes the cell gate.

"Due to a ruling made by a judge, Knuckles is _staying inside the cage_ " Mighty says

"What? He didn't even do anything! Those bastards were waiting for us! If anything, that was self defense!" Amy shouts

Mighty leans on the bars "Your Red friend has had two other incidences like this occur. This is Knuckles' third strike, isn't that right big guy?"

The Echidna stays silent when Mighty looks at him

"Sorry but he's staying in lockup tonight. Maybe even longer, depending on what the judge says this time. That'll be exciting" Mighty says "I'd be pretty nervous if a pissed off jury was determining whether or not I spend the next 10 or 20 years in prison. Good thing it's not me in this mess, heh"

Tails looks at the Armadillo's jacket, he's wearing a **G.U.N** Badge

"I get it, you think you're real smart because G.U.N finally recruited you. That only took 8 years. What's their involvement in all this, anyway?" Tails asks "Or do you even know?"

"That information is classified, Prower. Even if I could say, I'd just tell you to eat shit. Hope that answers your question" Mighty responds

"So basically you're just baby sitting Knuckles. I bet all those exams and tests you took really prepared you for this _dangerous Mission_ "

Two police officers open the front doors for Amy and Tails

"You've been released and are free to go, Miles Prower"

Tails walks up to the Holding Cell and looks at Knuckles "We're gonna get you out of here, man. Ain't gonna let you sit in here"

"Don't worry about me, kid. These pigs don't have anything on me that'll stick. I'll see you out there" Knuckles says

Tails reaches inside the cell and fist bumps the Echidna for the final time

"Step away from my prisoner, Prower. Only warning you're getting" Mighty calls out

Tails glares at the tall Armadillo as he walks out. Amy walks up to Mighty to say one last thing

"Hey Mighty - _Eat Shit_ "

Amy joins Tails in the main lobby and the two guards close the doors behind them.

Tails looks at the pink Hedgehog "Amy, I uh... I need to think about some stuff. I'll catch up with you later"

"Stay safe out there, Tails. I don't wanna lose you, too"

Amy gives the Fox a big hug and he heads out by himself.

Something gets Amy's attention: The visitor's board for all the inmates. This may be the only time anyone can visit Dr. Eggman before he's sent to Death Row. Amy wants to talk to her boyfriends' killer and find out what drove him to finally do it.

The Doctor is put in handcuffs, leg shackles and locked chains as he gets ready to see the only visitor he's had since his incarceration.

Eggman sits on a metal chair and gets chained to it so he can't jump up. Amy Rose enters the room, holding in every ounce of anger she has for the evil Doctor. The tension builds between both individuals

"...The only visitor I'll likely ever get.. and it's _you_. How marvelous"

"I'm only here for answers, Eggman"

"Oh please, you're here because I took your Sonic away from you"

"And you're gonna tell me why! What did he do to you that pushed it that far? Far enough for you to finally kill him?!"

Eggman sits back and laughs to himself, infuriating Amy

"You'll never understand why, Ms. Rose. It wasn't that I hated him, it's more of a balancing act approach. He beats me, I beat him, and so forth.. We keep going until someone wins the game. And as you see, I won"

"This isn't a stupid game, you _**KILLED**_ him, you sick bastard!"

The anger Amy feels mixes with the sadness and grief of losing Sonic. This mixed emotion causes her to shed tears as she looks into the eyes of Dr. Eggman.

"I didn't kill him"

Amy wipes her tears away "...what?"

"The _Sonic Cannon_ killed him when I pushed the button"

Eggman laughs hysterically as Amy lets out a scream of rage and anger. The prison guards rush in and escort the Pink Hedgehog out of the visiting room.

Amy stops to say one last thing to Eggman "You're the worst son of a bitch to ever exist"

The Doctor's words haunt Amy for the rest of the night. She walks back to Mickie's warehouse and sees she's the only one here. After a few moments of contemplating it, Amy finally pours a glass of Wine for herself. She sits on the chair Knuckles usually sits in and listens to the radio.

The sun sets once again, Tails puts his hands in his pockets and walks through an abandoned train station dock as he thinks.

Knuckles stands in line with a plastic tray and waits as the cooks serve the prisoners. He knows more than half of these inmates are here because of him, so it's going to be an interesting stay for him.

Manic finally arrives at the warehouse, surprising Amy. She quickly wipes away her tears and puts on a fake smile. Manic grabs a chair and sits in front of the Pink Hedgehog. He notices her tears and red eyes right away

"Long day, huh" Manic starts off

"Yeah, long day... I don't know why but, I talked to that bastard Eggman today. All that did was piss me off.. and realize how much I miss Sonic"

"We all miss that guy, Amy. He was something else"

Amy looks around for a moment "Oh, I forgot to ask you; Is Mickie alright?"

"Yeah, she's good, now. They put her in the same hospital as her boyfriend... First, it was Bark's gang that almost killed Thompson, now that asshole Nack shoots Mickie.. But they're safe from Hazard, now"

"I'm sorry about what happened to your friends, Manic"

"Ah, it's not your fault.. I figure, it's just life having fun messing with me and everyone I care about. Just gotta get through it, y'know"

Amy looks at Manic for a moment "I heard you say you and Sonic have a sister. How is she?"

"Sonia? Man, I don't even know. After she had her accident, we kinda lost contact. I've got a friend who watches over her, last thing I heard was Sonia was fine. She's rich - like, super rich. Invested in some environmental protection company and they're making millions"

"How come you never joined her?"

"Amy, I'm a _thief_. I was only ever meant to do this. Just like how Sonic was a hero. I can't sit around in some fancy mansion all day. I'm glad my sister gets to live that life, after all the shit she's been through. Robotnik. Uncle Chuck. Losing Sonic, now..."

Amy hears the grief in Manic's voice during that final statement. She wraps her arms around the Green Hedgehog tightly and hugs him, while Manic stares out the window, thinking about his younger brother.

* * *

Around the same time, Tails walks back to his motel room. He grabs the key from his pocket and unlocks the door, the neon signs from outside light up the room.

Tails takes off his jacket, grabs a soda from a mini fridge and sits down. Just as he gets comfortable, someone knocks on his door. It's kind of late for his friends to show up unexpectedly, but The Fox gets up to answer it anyway.

Fiona Fox smiles at him "Hello Miles"

"... What're you doing here?" Tails asks

"I heard you were in town and I wanted to say hi"

"For some reason I don't exactly believe that's the case"

"I wouldn't lie to you, handsome"

"Well, you kinda did. Last time we ran into eachother. And the time before that, and before that"

"Okay, so I'm not perfect!... this time it's important. If it weren't, I wouldn't be here" Fiona says "Can I come in?"

Tails opens his door all the way and the Female Fox steps inside the motel room. She takes a seat on the bed while Tails stands up.

Fiona smiles "Don't be shy, come have a seat"

"I'm good here. Last time I got close with you, your boyfriend used me as punching bag"

"You don't have to worry about him, Miles. He's old news"

Tails sighs and crosses his arms "What'd you want?"

"...G.U.N seized Eggman's gadgets, including his technology. One such piece is a prototype for some _Artificial intelligence_ program. Your friend Predator Hawk stole this from G.U.N and word is he's working on it. We all know that won't end well"

"So, what're you saying?"

"Tails, I want you to steal it. I know some ambitious guys and gals who'd love to get their hands on this tech. They want it so much, they'll pay top dollar for it. Besides, it's best that idiots like Hawk can't use weapons like this" Fiona says

"Let me get this straight: You want me to steal this weapon so that **YOU** can sell it to other criminals? That about right?"

"They're more like geeky computer hackers. And you'd also get some of the money I make"

"Why should I risk my safety for some stupid A.I prototype that might not even work?" Tails asks

Fiona stands up and puts her hands on his cheeks "Because Miles, you're the only one who could make it work. You can choose who we sell it to. I know how much you love technology like this, well Tails - This could be huge! Something that would change the world. And right now Hawk has possession of it. Please?"

Fiona stands a few inches taller than Tails in her heels, so he's looking up at her

"...When I steal it, **I'M** choosing what happens with this A.I" Tails says

Fiona gives him a big smile "That's the spirit, champ"

The Female Fox quickly kisses Tails and takes off out the door just as fast.

Tails now has a new motivation for taking down Hazard, but his friends aren't going to like it.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six: Ultra Violence_

Predator Hawk walks into the downtown police station, hands over a briefcase full of money and waits at the front. Rosie, Nack and Bark are escorted by officers from their jail cells to the front door.

"Off you go, scumbags" A police officer says as he pushes them out the door "You won't always have _Moneybags_ here to bail you out"

Bark yawns "Eh, Get some better food in this bitch! Barely survived the night, ya twisted pricks!"

"Yeah, boo-hoo. Now you can stuff your fat ass with some Lobster and Champagne"

"Oy, yer damn right I can! I make more money in **One Night** than you do in a year, ya blue suited, bug eyed-"

Hawk pulls Bark out of the police station before he can finish. The Giant Polar Bear laughs but his friends aren't in the same mood

"When I tell you to keep a low profile, I don't mean raise hell in Ox Park and get arrested" Hawk starts "Now you've got me out here bailing your sorry asses out of jail, instead of doing my job"

"The cops surrounded the Park. No way in hell we could've made it out without a pig catching us" Rosie says

"Should've never been in the park to begin with, I told ya's to find Prower's hideout. Instead, you wanna pick a fight and LOSE to Knuckles and Amy.."

"Bro, that Knuckles ain't no pushover, I'll tell ya that, mate. Messed up my eye sight for a bit, the bugger" Bark says

Hawk stops and looks at the ground "I hired you dipshits for a couple jobs. You're supposed to be professionals at what you do. And you _**Fucked up!**_ You OWE me big time for the scores I've given you, now your debt just went up. No more midnight calls in the park, or you're off the team"

Everyone stays silent as they walk to Hawk's limousine. His phone starts ringing and he checks it, a security breach at his base

"Get in the fuckin' car. We've got work to do"

* * *

Amy and Manic are out on a walk through the suburbs of Metropolis. The orange sun sets over the city skyline and they head back to the warehouse. The Green Hedgehog unlocks the big metal door and sees Tails sitting on an office chair, his left arm covered in dried blood

"What happened to you, dude?" Manic asks

"Ah - nothing, just cut my bicep on a sharp edge" Tails replies "How was your afternoon?"

Amy looks at the area around the Fox "...this stuff wasn't here when we left. Tails, what really happened?.. are you hiding something?"

"What? No! Course not"

Just then a loud **BEEP** sound rings out loudly. It continues until Tails walks over and presses a button to make it stop.

"Alright, I may have stolen something from Hazard. And it may or may not be dangerous, depending on who has it"

"What is it?"

Manic picks up the small Chrome device and looks it over for a moment "... it's some kind of Artificial intelligence prototype but, someone managed to program it into a Tablet, which is pretty cool"

"I didn't know you knew anything about A.I. technology, Manic" Tails says

"I paid attention to some stuff back in high school. Plus, my friends would bring me stuff like this that they stole from Robotnik"

"Well, that's who designed this piece. Predator Hawk had his team raid his gadgets and he's been trying to get this thing to work since" Tails replies "Until I ripped this bad boy off him, which wasn't easy. That is why I'm cut open, but very much worth it"

Amy sits on a bench "How dangerous is this thing?"

"If Hazard got this thing working, they could hack into _**ANYTHING**_ on the planet. Banks, weapon compounds, even military bases!... but now that we have it, none of that can happen"

"That's the next question... what _are_ we gonna do with it?" Manic asks

"Well, we can't do a thing with it right now. It's missing an important part called " _ **The Capacitor**_ " Without it, this thing's a paperweight"

"Where can we get one?"

"They only sell these things online. In the right hands, a Capacitor is harmless. But in the wrong hands, it's a weapon. Think of when they said it was possible to turn a PlayStation into a super computer" Tails explains

"How much is it?" Manic asks

"Looking at around $400, minimum"

"... Let's say we get the money, and you built this A.I... would you be able to hack into Hazards' systems and expose them?" Amy asks

"Figuratively speaking, yes. But there's no guarantee I can make it work. I'm good, but Eggman built these things very specifically... makes me wonder why he didn't use this stuff to just rob banks and do other, Evil Mastermind stuff. Instead he just made crappy Bad-Niks and poorly made machines"

As the trio get ready to leave, someone starts knocking on the warehouse door. Before anyone answers it, the door is opened and **Fiona Fox** lets herself in.

"Ooh, it's kinda chilly out tonight" Fiona says

"I told you not to come here" Tails responds

Amy grabs her Hammer "Tails, what is _She_ doing here?"

"Relax, Rose. I'm just here to collect something from Champ, then I'm outta here"

Manic and Amy look at the Fox "...what's she talking about?"

Tails gets up, still grasping his left arm. He walks over to his Toolbox and pulls out a small device

"Eggman's A.I.. the perfect weapon for a global Hacker"

"Yeah, yeah I know what it is. Now pass it over" Fiona orders

"..You really think I'm stupid enough to keep such a dangerous weapon here?"

Fiona sighs and whistles loudly. Suddenly, a big gang of Thugs enter the warehouse, each holding baseball bats, crowbars and wrenches.

"Let's not play this game, honey. Give me the device and my friends won't break your legs" Fiona warns "Only time I'll say it"

Manic, Tails and Amy stand back to back as the gang moves in closer

"I knew you would pull something like this, Fiona. So I came up with a better option" Tails answers

Fiona steps back "Alright, guys. Bring me the Fox. Waste the two Hedgehogs"

Just as the gang start walking towards the trio, Tails presses a button on his phone and the lights get shut off, making it pitch black inside. Amy swings her Hammer and Manic uses his Medallion energy to attack the Thugs.

Tails opens the side door and pulls his friends outside with him. They start running down a grassy hill, but the thugs chase them.

"Maybe we should split up!" Tails shouts

"Suit yourself" Manic responds

"Let's call eachother once we lose these guys" Amy says

The pink Hedgehog runs off into a field to the left, while Manic takes off into the back streets on the right. Tails runs to a dock, jumps off a wooden bridge and flies across the water. Fiona's gang lose the trio in the darkness, while Fiona herself stays inside Mickie's warehouse.

"Shit, we lost 'em!" a thug says

"They'll come around sooner or later. In the meantime, I want you to rip this place apart. Find Anything that would help us with this A.I, Tails has to have _something_ here" Fiona orders "And if you find the kid.. Bring him to me in One piece"

* * *

About half an hour later, Manic steps out from a nightclub with a drink in his hand. A girl hugs him tightly while he pulls out his cellphone and calls Amy

"Hey, it's Manic. Pretty sure I lost those boys who were looking for us"

"Good. Meet me at the Docks near Grimsby road" Amy says "Have you heard from Tails?"

"Nah, can't say I have. Hope he didn't get jabbed out there. Eh, who was that _**Foxy lady**_ friend of his?" Manic asks

"Ugh, just - someone he shouldn't be hanging around. She's been nothing but trouble for Tails, she used him for her own gain and then left him for an even bigger asshole named Scourge... I don't know why he was even talking to her after everything she's done to him"

"Sometimes a girl can do that do an innocent young man. Y'know, my last girlfriend was almost exactly like this Fiona chick. But I couldn't leave this girl for some reason.. anyway, I'll make my way to the Docks" Manic says

"Alright, see you there"

Amy hangs up her phone and starts walking down a dark back street. The lights from cars shine off her face as she zig zags through the suburbs. She reaches a main Street and crosses over, then she hears a familiar voice

"Hey Amy!" Knuckles shouts

"Knux?"

The tall Echidna catches up to Amy and she hugs him

"I just got released 'bout an hour ago. Mighty turned into a real cocksucker, huh. Made it as hard as possible to get out, but I'm here" Knuckles says "What's going on, where's the guys?"

"I'm going to meet Manic now, I'm not sure about Tails. That damn guy made a deal with Fiona and Of course she screwed him over. Well, she tried. But now the warehouse is compromised" Amy explains

"No calls from him since then?"

"Not a single one. And he won't answer my calls"

"That's usually not a good sign.. let's go meet Manic and sort this out. You guys can crash at my place til this is over and done with" Knuckles says

The Echidna and Pink Hedgehog walk to the Docks and just as they get there, Manic shows up. They try to call Tails once again, but still get no answer.

"Come on kid, pick up!" Knuckles says

Manic calls and he hears Tails' voice over the phone "Hey, I got him!"

"Hello?" Tails asks

"Eh, we been looking for you for an hour now, where you at?"

"...just kidding, I'm not available right now. Please leave a message at the dial tone and I'll get back to you"

"God Dammit, stupid answering machine!" Manic shouts "Come on, Tails, where are you? shit!"

"Aw, is somebody worried?" Knuckles mockingly asks

"Yeah, I'm worried about the kid. These Hazard guys, they don't play around" Manic responds "... that's it! I can use GPS tracking to find his phone, and hopefully him"

"Give it a try, then"

* * *

Bark the Polar Bear, Rosie and Nack the Weasel all sit in a large white room. It's so old that the paint is coming off, exposing the concrete underneath. Tails wakes up, laying face down on the cold concrete floor. His left arm is chained to the left side of the wall, and his right arm is chained to the right side. He tries to get loose but there's no way he can break these chains.

"Hey, he's awake. Go get the boss" Rosie orders "Morning, sunshine. Hope you slept well"

"Not really, seeing as you put these big ass chains on me. Kinda hard on the wrists, y'know" Tails replies

"You think This is the worst part, just wait til the boss comes" Nack says

Tails sits up and looks around nervously "Yeah, I kinda figured I'm not here to just chat.."

"Oy, Fox boy! Is it true that you stole The _**SAGE**_ program by yourself?" Bark asks

"Is that what you call this Artificial intelligence thing? ... well, it was pretty easy to take it. Hawk's security is pretty lame if a 14 year old can break in and steal a weapon with next to no problem" Tails answers

"Yeah, tell me about it. The Bloke's been blaming ME for all these small things and to be honest with ya, I'm quite sick of it"

"Sounds like a dead end job, Mr. Polar Bear" Tails says

Before Bark can continue his conversation with Tails, Predator Hawk walks in the white room and immediately punches the Fox in the face 3 times

"That was a $100 million program you stole from me, Prower! And now No one can find the thing? I'm gonna enjoy beating the shit out of you, kid!"

Hawk lets go of Tails and he falls to his knees, but can't use his arms to defend himself.

"Lift him up!" Hawk yells

Nack presses a button and the chains pull Tails back up to his feet. Hawk punches him in the body and face for a few moments, while his partners look on. By the end of his assault, Hawk leaves Tails bruised and bloody.

"You remember where you put **MY** property yet?"

The Fox spits out blood before answering "... Can you repeat the question, I don't exactly understand what you're trying to say"

Hawk smirks and dips his hands in a bowl of ice to heal his bruised fists. Nack pulls up a chair for him and they both sit down.

"Really testing my patience, huh Prower.. that's alright, I've got time" Hawk says "Rosie, _do your thing"_

The Pink and Black Hedgehog takes off her leather jacket and walks up to Tails. She checks him out for a moment while he bleeds out from his mouth and nose. Rosie spots the wound on his left arm and grabs his bandage

"Ooh, what do we have here?" Rosie asks as she unwraps the white bandage

"No, no wait just a second - _**OW!**_ "

While Hazard tortures Tails inside, Amy Manic and Knuckles reach the building and head to the entrance. A few armed guards stand at the door, making this harder for the trio to get in

"I make 3 guards at the front door. 2 more on the rooftop. All armed" Knuckles says "Let's play this smart and work together-"

Manic ignores this and runs in first. His Medallions power allows him to quickly sidestep and avoid the gunfire, and he knocks out every guard.

"I prefer to run in and smash everyone in sight" Manic replies

Amy looks at Knuckles "Sounds like a good plan to me"

"Alright, what are you gonna do about the door?" Knuckles asks

Manic rolls up his sleeve "Watch this"

The Green Hedgehog winds up and punches the Steel Door but it doesn't budge. He ends up hurting his fist more than anything else.

 _ **HOLY SHIT!**_

Knuckles pushes him aside and stands in front of the door "Let me do this, you idiot"

The Steel Door is smashed and slides down the main hallway of this Base.

The loud bang makes Hawk jump out of his seat "What the hell was that?"

Nack looks on a security monitor "His friends are here for him"

"Not on my watch. Nack, Bark; Get out there and take 'em out. I need to find that A.I" Hawk orders

The giant Polar Bear grabs a black crowbar, and Nack picks up his Sniper Rifle. They head out the door and split up, while Rosie continues her assault on Tails.

Amy and Manic walk down one hallway and Knuckles goes down another, looking in every room for the Fox.

"Look everywhere, he's gotta be in one of these rooms" Knuckles says over the phone

Manic opens a door to a large room, gets kicked in the gut and knocked down. A huge gang member walks towards him, until Amy swings her giant Hammer and knocks him back into the room, unconscious.

Manic gets to his feet "I had that under control"

"Yeah, totally looked that way"

Knuckles walks up a set of stairs and looks around. He barely turns a corner and someone shoulder tackles him, knocking the Echidna backwards into a wall.

Bark the Polar Bear faces him "Ready for round two?"

"Ready when you are, _fat boy_ "

Knuckles gets up and brawls with Bark all the way down the White hallway. They hit eachother with the hardest punches they can throw, but neither one is affected so they keep fighting. They lean against a railing and their combined weight breaks through, and they fall off a balcony. They hit the tile floor, get up and continue to fight.

Amy is just about to climb a set of stairs but Manic quickly grabs her and pulls her to the ground. Nack fires his Sniper Rifle and it narrowly misses the hedgehogs. They hide behind a concrete pillar and metal railing, while Nack reloads his weapon.

"You cheap bastard, gotta use a gun to fight us?!" Manic shouts

"No rules, Manic. You know what game we're playing"

Another bullet hits the Pillar, then a second one. The shots are starting to go through the concrete, making this hiding spot unsafe.

"Shit, he's got Armour piercing rounds!.. we gotta move before this pillar drops" Manic says

"No sense in running, I'm gonna hit you eventually!" Nack calls out

Amy thinks for a moment "... I've got an idea. When I raise my Hammer and he shoots it, run up those stairs and use your energy to knock his gun away"

Manic nods and gets ready. Amy slowly lifts the Handle up and as expected, Nack fires at it. Time slows down as Manic runs up the stairs and toward the Weasel. Nack quickly reloads and aims his Rifle but Manic is faster with his attack. The Medallion glows and he uses the energy to knock the Weasel on his back.

"Ha, it worked!"

Manic kicks the rifle out of Nack's reach, and punches him until he's unconscious. A few guards show up and start firing at the Hedgehogs

"Go, I'll be right behind you!" Manic shouts to Amy

Amy runs off down the final hallway and keeps her Hammer ready.

Rosie begins to painfully twist Tails' left arm backwards and he groans in pain, while she laughs maniacally at her work. She uses a blade to open his wound up even more and Hawk looks on from his seat.

"You still think you're funny now, Fox?!"

Tails shouts loudly as blood flows from his injured arm, but he still says nothing

Knuckles punches Bark down to the floor and makes sure he's not getting up. He leaves the Polar Bear and heads upstairs.

Bark pulls out his cellphone "...Boss, we can't stop them! They're heading up!"

Hawk shouts in anger "Alright, _**fuck it:**_ Let's take him to _TheTower_ "

"Wha- the Tower? What's that?.. ow!.."

The Blue Hawk raises the chains holding Tails' arms up and looks him in the eyes "You're gonna give me back my device and help me finish the rest of my collection"

As the chains pull Tails' arms, a blue wristband is revealed under his sleeve. Hawk pulls it off his wrist and looks at it

"What's this, something to remember your pal Sonic by? That's cute. But I don't think you need this anymore"

"No, wait - Don't!"

The Hawk takes his lighter and sets the wristband on fire. Tails can only watch as the only thing left of his best friend burns on the ground. A small tear drops from his eye, while Hawk grabs his chrome Hover Board.

Amy, Knuckles and Manic rush into the White Room but no one is here. Amy looks out the window and sees Predator Hawk and Rosie riding on his Board, while Tails is dragged by a chain through the air.

"Son of a bitch.."

Manic looks on the security monitors "... Everyone else is gone, too!"

"Great, we let 'em get away, Again..." Knuckles says as he punches a wall "..let's get outta here before the cops come"


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven: FINAL ASSAULT act I_

The street lights turn on outside as the sky fades to black and the night begins. Tails has his wrists zip tied behind his back and a few guards escort him behind Predator Hawk down a fancy ballroom-style hallway

"Is this supposed to be your _Headquarters_?"

"Well, it sure doesn't belong to the mayor, Prower"

The Tall Blue Hawk inputs a password on a keyboard mounted on the wall and two secret elevator doors open up on a bookcase. The group enters the Silver elevator, Tails looks at how many floors there are in this Tower

"You've got 300 floors in this place?!"

Hawk presses the 257th floor button "Kid, my Tower reaches into the atmosphere. I can see _space and stars_ from my office. But we're not going there just yet. Rosie isn't finished working that left arm of yours so, she's gonna have another session with you until you give up the location of the SAGE program"

Before anyone notices, Tails quickly grabs a thumb tack off a wooden board and hides it in his hand. The elevator doors close and the long trip up begins.

"... So, how about this weather we've been having? Pretty good, right?" Tails asks, trying to break the silence

"We didn't come here to talk about the fuckin' weather"

"Now, that ain't nice"

"You really like pushing your luck, huh Prower" Hawk says aggressively "Shut your ass up before I have my men shut it for you"

The Fox keeps his adversary busy by talking, while he cuts the plastic zip tie off his wrists without anyone seeing. He quietly breaks the tie and stays calm in the elevator.

The elevator quickly shoots up dozens of floors, making everyone inside hold onto the railing to avoid falling down. Tails pretends to be tied, while thinking of a plan to escape Hawk's men. The guards stay silent, while Hawk pulls out his cellphone and texts one of his friends.

After 15 minutes of riding up hundreds of floors, the Silver elevator doors open up and the group walk into a Laboratory. Tails glances around and looks at all of Eggman's stolen technology, then sees the Capacitor for his A.I program on a monitor

"How much of Eggman's gadgets do you have?" Tails asks

"When you're as rich as me - you can have as much as you want. I bet you've never even seen this much tech in your short, pathetic life"

As Hawk opens another metal door, Tails kicks him in the back, pushes through the guards and jumps into a nearby air vent. He slides down the chrome plated vent and shouts in excitement

"Close off the air ducts, don't let him get to another floor!"

A guard types furiously on a keyboard and every air duct starts to close. Tails is just small enough to fit in between the closing doors, then he falls onto the floor of an unknown room.

"Argh, GOD DAMMIT! ... The first one to bring me that Fox gets a 50% raise!"

Hawk's men all split up and head down the Tower, while the leader steps back into the secret elevator and heads to the top floor.

Tails ducks down behind a desk as the guards look inside every room for him. Once they leave, he crawls over to a large machine sitting against the wall.

"Whoa - this is a map of the Tower"

Tails takes a photo of it on his phone and looks at a specific point on the map

 _ **-Top tier technology room-**_

"I'm willing to bet he's got a Capacitor laying around in there... it's worth a look"

As the Fox heads to the door he sees a crowbar sitting next to a 'Break glass in case of emergency' sign, so he grabs it

"How convenient"

(The song " _When the Levee breaks_ " by Led Zeppelin plays over a sound system)

Predator Hawk turns on a microphone that connects to every P.A system in his Tower, getting every workers' attention

"Prower, I don't know where you are but when my men find you, I guarantee you won't ever fly again... The rest of you, find this son of a bitch and I'll make it worth your while"

This little "Motivational speech" definitely gets the workers out of their seats, while Tails hides from them. He jumps up to the air vents and crawls through, staying quiet enough so the workers and guards don't hear him. He uses a garbage Shute to drop down a few floors without being seen.

Tails climbs out of the Shute and looks up, a computer technician and a female dispatch operator are standing in the doorway

"Hey guys, - nice night for a walk, don't you think"

The girl takes off running "HE'S IN HERE!"

The Computer Tech attacks but misses and Tails beats him down with the crowbar he took. He runs down the hall towards the Technology Room, while 10 guards chase him. Tails gets inside, slams the door shut and presses the lockdown button.

"Ah, shit! it's locked from both sides!" a guard shouts

The Fox takes a moment to catch his breath, then he sees all of Eggman's technology and gadgets inside the room.

"... Holy shit"

Tails looks through metal crates, drawers and cabinets for The Capacitor. He searches for a moment, then he finds it inside a Cube made of bullet proof glass.

"Bingo"

A Massive computer turns on, making Tails look over at it. He logs in and finds out this is a military Super Computer, capable of hacking into most security systems.

Tails plugs a wire into the wall port and grins "Let's see what kind of trouble I can cause with this"

The first thing Tails does is overheat the electrical wiring inside all the rooms with Guns, bombs and weapons. Guards run out and small fires engulf their weapons, making them useless. Nack the Weasel keeps his _Silver Bullet Pistols_ close and the guards put out the fires.

Next, Tails closes the garage doors in the basement and shuts off the lights on the top 10 floors. Bark the Polar Bear sits on a toilet inside a bathroom stall when the lights go out.

"Hey, the hell is this? HEY! Knock it off, ya Bloke's, I ain't playing!" Bark says as he tries to open the stall door "Ya locked me in, too?! What - COME ON, TURN THE LIGHTS ON! I CAN'T SEE A BLOODY THING! HEY!"

Rosie joins Predator Hawk inside his office and they lock the door behind them. The emergency lights come on inside the office

"This kid is really starting to piss me off" Hawk says angrily, then looks at his guards "How hard is it to catch a 4 foot tall Fox?"

"He's a crafty little shit, boss" a guard answers

"Where is he, **I'LL** catch him, god dammit"

Hawk turns on his security system and looks for Tails on the monitors

"He locked himself inside the Tech Room"

"... He's using Eggman's Military Computer to hack into my shit... Alright, I can open the doors from here. Send your team in when I say so, and DON'T mess this up" Hawk orders

"Yes sir"

While Hawk types on his keyboard, the Sprinkler system goes off and water rains from the ceiling. Hawk's computer is fried from the water damage and catches fire

Tails speaks over a microphone "Hey moron, I can hear everything you say! Have fun cleaning this up!"

"That little BASTARD!"

Hawk kicks the computer off his desk, then Rosie grabs a fire extinguisher and puts out the flames.

"There's gotta be some kinda weapon that can break those doors down! Commander, get your men and deal with this NOW! We can't let Tails escape with that Capacitor!"

"Should we bring him up here?" the Commander asks

"I want you to **_shoot him down!_** He's obviously not going to give me the Device back, so killing him is the only option" Hawk says "Can you do that?"

"Yes sir"

"Then go. Don't come back until you have his body"

A group of guards carry a large machine off an elevator and down the halls. Only emergency lights are on, making it difficult to see. They set the machine in front of the Tech Room doors, and Tails looks on

"What is that thing?"

The Commander presses a button and the machine releases a battering ram. It strikes the door with 100 000 pounds of force, but doesn't knock it down.

"Oh Crap!" Tails shouts

The guards load up the battering ram for another strike, so Tails grabs as many gadgets as he can carry and shuts down the Super Computer. He smashes it to make sure Hawk can't use it ever again.

Tails breaks the window open and throws his crowbar at the lights, making it pitch black inside. The battering ram strikes the doors and knocks them down, but Tails is already gone

"SHOOT THAT FOX!"

The guards run to the window but can't find their target anywhere

Tails free falls from the 257th floor and shouts in excitement all the way down. He's so high up he can see the whole city, the lights and the mountains surrounding them.

"Sonic would've loved to see this"

The Fox enjoys the view as he skydives beside The Tower. He releases his parachute and slowly floats down, he's still 150 feet from the ground.

Nack the Weasel leans out the window on the 280th floor and aims his Rifle down at Tails. It's _almost impossible_ to shoot the Fox from this height, but Nack goes for it. His bullet doesn't hit Tails, but it does cut a hole in his parachute. Tails begins to spin out of control and nose dive to the ground

"Oh Shit!"

As he hurdles toward the street, the parachute gets caught on a satellite antenna. Tails bounces off a window so hard, he cracks it. He can't get loose from the safety harness and now he's stuck up here.

"Well, this sucks... ow!"

He looks at his left arm, it's even more injured than it was before. He tugs at the harness but it won't budge, so he hangs high above the streets.

20 minutes go by, Tails is still stuck. But none of Hawk's guards have come for him yet. He swings back and forth, tired and bored at this point.

As he kicks off the glass windows, an elevator rides up and Tails makes eye contact with Amy, Manic and Knuckles

"I'll be damned"

Amy presses the emergency stop button, Knuckles punches through the Glass windows and Manic pulls Tails into the elevator

"Dude, We just spent the last 2 hours beating up Hawk's affiliates so we could find this place, and there's you just hanging out on the side of the building" Manic says "You do anything special while we were out?"

Tails glances at Manic, then looks away " _... Nah, nothing important_ "

Amy presses the 1st floor button "Let's get down to the lobby while we still got the chance"

The elevator doesn't move and Hawk speaks over a microphone "You four aren't going anywhere until we get done with you"

Knuckles uses his spiked glove to cut the break line of the elevator and it shoots down abruptly. The emergency breaks stop it before they hit the ground floor, then everyone jumps out and runs out the front doors.

Manic breaks a car window, hot wires it and unlocks the doors for everyone. The car speeds off just as Nack gets to the lobby.

"Did you get them?" Hawk asks over the phone

"...No"

Hawk doesn't say a word, only hangs up.

Bark the Polar Bear finally breaks through the locked bathroom door and falls into the hallway. The lights still aren't on so Rosie turns on a huge search light inside. They walk inside Hawk's office and wait for his word.

"... I'm not gonna sugar coat this, Tails just fucked this place up. He's got The SAGE program and the Capacitor. He just destroyed our weapons and now my Security system is compromised..."

"So, what're you saying?" Bark asks

"I'm saying we gotta launch **The Endgame sequence**. If we take this city's Core, we'll make more than enough to start over. But we have to do it Now"

Rosie crosses her arms "Let's do it"

* * *

Manic drives down a road near the country side, barely any street lights around. Amy wraps Tails' injured arm with hockey tape. Knuckles pulls out a map and points Manic in the right direction

"Go down this road for 6 blocks then head down South street" Knuckles instructs

"So Tails... What'd you see up there?" Amy asks

"Those guys have Everything... I took the Capacitor and destroyed as much as I could, but Hazard still has enough firepower to light this city up" Tails answers

"...you know what that means"

"yep... we have to go back"

Manic groans loudly "Man, we just spent all freaking night trying to find this big ass tower that nearly killed us, and now you guys are saying we have to go back in there?"

"Yes"

"... Alright, I'm up for it. But I'm running low on gas, here. Literally"

"We'll get a few hours of sleep, then we go in. Catch them off guard" Amy explains "We need to end this"

The guys nod and agree with the Pink Hedgehog. The car gets silent, so Knuckles turns on the radio

(" _Soul Shine_ " by Allman Brothers band plays)

Tails leans back in his seat, trying to get comfortable

"...Do you think there's a race track in heaven?"

"A race track?"

"Well, a place where everyone goes to watch a race happen"

"..Yeah, I think they've got a race track up there"

"I bet that's where Sonic is hanging out right now. Just runnin' circles around that track"

Manic drives onto the main Street "...So where am I going?"

"Drive to my apartment. Let's get some rest, then we'll finish this tomorrow"

The group heads back into Metropolis to have one more night of peace, because tomorrow is the Endgame.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight: FINAL ASSAULT act II_

The morning starts off cloudy and grey as Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Manic get ready for their fight against Hazard.

Hawk has already triggered his Endgame sequence and waits for his enemies' arrival. Bark, Nack and Rosie sit inside Hawk's office and wait for his orders.

Manic drives his friends inside the car he stole last night, they head out to The Tower.

"So whats the plan?" Manic asks

"We go in and smash everything!" Tails shouts "We need to end this whole operation"

"Tails, they've got a small army armed with military weapons. They'll cut us down to pieces the very second we step inside that door" Amy responds "We can't just run in, we need to be smart about this"

The Fox looks over at Knuckles "..I never said we should enter through the front door. You thinking what I'm thinking, buddy?"

Knuckles nods his head "I got it"

Manic drives to an open field not too far from The Tower and pulls over. Everyone gets out and stand behind the Echidna.

"Been awhile since I've done this shit"

"It'll be like pounding someone's face, just keep punching" Manic says

"That's _one_ way to look at it"

Knuckles punches the ground hard and creates a hole, then he punches with his other arm and the hole gets bigger. He digs underground and his friends jump in the giant hole behind him. Soon an entire tunnel is dug by the Echidna deep under the surface. Knuckles rips through a few electrical wires as he digs further, stepping over them as he continues.

The friends get to a large, Titanium Garage Door and Try to open it

Tails puts his hacking device to the lock "...damnit, this thing is reverse engineered. Hawk must've had his men seal every possible entrance after I screwed up his system"

Knuckles rolls up his sleeves "..I'll show you MY way of opening it"

He steps back, then quickly throws a powerful punch at the Door. He puts a massive dent in it, but the Titanium reinforcement keeps the door up.

Manic stands beside Knuckles "Looks like you could use an extra hand"

The Jade medallion around Manic's necklace starts to glow bright. The hedgehog and Echidna get ready to strike at the same time. Manic jumps up for a _Superman punch_ and Knuckles steps into another power punch.

The combined energy of both punches knocks the large door to the ground, and the friends walk inside. An alarm goes off but they keep going

Predator Hawk hears the alarm from his office and looks at the security cameras

"What's that?" Hawk asks

"Sir, it appears the Four Friends have broken into the underground hangar" a guard answers

"God damnit! I knew they'd break in somehow!"

"Task forces are being deployed right now"

"No, this is a problem that **We** will deal with. Nack, Rosie, Bark! Lets go say hi to our friends"

Back in the underground tunnel, Amy leads the way in while Tails hacks into every computer and shuts them down permanently. Knuckles and Manic destroy dangerous equipment and Amy breaks through doors with her signature War Hammer.

"How much shit is down here?!" Manic asks "it's like an Art museum or something"

"Maybe we should be worried about the one thing that isn't here" Tails replies

"And what's that?"

A giant door is opened and Knuckles looks up first " _ **Guards**_ "

30 guards in Black armour enter the Tunnel, each holding a nightstick. They block the entrance to The Tower.

Manic looks around nervously "..hey guys, how are you today? ...I'm good, thanks for asking. We kinda need to get by so if you could just-"

All 30 guards shout angrily and smash their nightsticks against the walls

"OKAY - I guess that means no, thats cool too... before we start fighting, let me ask you: is your job really that important? I mean, there's plenty of other lucrative, less painful jobs out there-"

The guards move in and swing their weapons at the friends. Manic ducks the first guard and Amy swings her hammer at him

"Oh Shit! That wasn't very nice!"

Knuckles looks over "Manic, shut up and start punching something!"

Amy clears some space with her War Hammer, while Knuckles takes the nightsticks away and brutally beats them down. Manic shows off his fancy spin kicks and Tails flies high above the floor

"Guys, duck down!" Tails shouts

His friends get down and Tails flies at the guards with a long, metal pole. He knocks out 12 guards at once and his friends go back to fighting the rest.

Manic's medallion lights up "You think that was impressive, watch this!"

The green hedgehog punches one guard and his Gem's energy causes a shockwave behind this guard. Every other guard is knocked out by the force of this blast, and this gives the friends a chance to catch their breath

Manic leans against a wall, drained of energy and barely able to stand. He pulls out a bag of beef jerky from inside his coat and starts eating them quickly.

"What the hell, you had a bag of beef jerky on you this whole time?" Knuckles asks

"Orange juice, too" Manic says as he pulls out a juice box

"Do you just carry this stuff around with you all the damn time? Thats weird, man. And how the hell did that juice box not explode inside your coat?"

A loud Boom is heard not far behind the friends. Their tunnel is caved in by small explosives, trapping them inside.

"Huh. Guess we're not gettin' out _that_ way" Manic says

"You're not gettin' out at all"

The friends look up; Predator Hawk leads Hazard inside the underground hangar

"Digging a tunnel into my Hangar - smart idea, I'll give you that. But it wasn't too smart to come back here lookin' for a fight. It's a bit too late to stop anything at this point, anyway. You see, if you were as fast as your friend Sonic then you Might have been able to stop me in time but you're not-"

"And they say I talk too much.." Manic says

Hawk scoffs at this comment "Alright, you wanna skip the bullshit? Cool. HAZARD! Lets get these wannabe's"

Bark the Polar Bear walks up and Knuckles faces off with him

"You ready to die, ya wanker?" Bark asks

"You waited this whole time to face me and Thats the best line you could come up with? Pathetic" Knuckles responds

Amy and Rosie face off next

"I like your jacket" Rosie says

"Wow, wasn't expecting that. Thanks" Amy replies

"It'll look great on me after I beat your ass all over this hangar!" Rosie says as she laughs

"You are one crazy-ass bitch"

Manic and Nack stand off near the entrance

"... I feel like we haven't interacted enough for me to come up with some snappy dialogue like they did. I mean, I'm trying but I don't know you so - yeah, I've got nothing" Manic says

"Don't worry about getting to know me. You'll be dead soon enough" Nack replies

"Ah, you're the 'Man of few words' type of bad guy. Glad I don't know you"

Finally, Tails faces off with Predator Hawk

"Are you gonna say something funny like those guys did? They raised the bar pretty high" Tails says

"No, because I'm not a dipshit like them. I'm gonna kick your ass the old fashioned way" Hawk responds

"Yeah, I can tell trash talking isn't your thing. Stick to what you can handle"

Knuckles tackles Bark into the side of an Armoured truck, while Amy swings her Hammer at Rosie, narrowly missing her every time. Nack pulls out a gun but Manic grabs his wrist and Judo flips him to the concrete floor. Tails dodges Hawk's flurry of punches and spin kicks him in the ribs.

Bark overpowers Knuckles and lifts him up, until Amy hits him in the back of the legs. Bark drops to one knee, Knuckles lands on the ground and knees' him in the face.

Tails avoids more attacks and counter punches Hawk. Eventually he goes down and Tails makes sure he's done, but then Rosie jumps on his back and claws at his face

"Ow! Ow! Get her off! Ouch!"

"Not just yet, hunny! Got one more thing for ya!"

Rosie pulls out a small knife and goes for a stab, then Knuckles rips her off Tails' back. She slices his forearm and the Fox goes down

Amy quickly wraps his forearm up with a bandage

"She - She cut me!"

"Just relax, Tails. You're gonna be alright, just put pressure on this"

Manic slams Nack again but this time the Weasel pulls out a machine gun and aims up. Manic gets shot with one bullet but keeps fighting. He disarms Nack and throws the gun away. Blood pours from Manic's shoulder, putting a smile on Nack's face

"Keeps smiling, asshole. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve" Manic says

Bark finally gets up and goes for Knuckles. He runs up behind the Echidna, tackles him to the floor and begins punching his face as hard as he can. Amy swings her hammer at Bark but he catches it this time

"I don't care if you are a girl; if you swing a hammer at me, I'm gonna swing right back!"

Rosie jumps up and kicks Amy in the back, knocking her to the floor face first

"Nice set up, big guy" Rosie says

"They fall for it every time!" Bark says

Manic leaves Nack and runs at Bark, trying to get him off Knuckles. Nack picks up his gun and shoots Manic again, then Bark back hands him away.

Amy tries to stand up but Rosie keeps kicking her, not letting her get to her feet. Predator Hawk stands up and stomps on Knuckles while Bark holds him down.

Tails sits in a corner holding his arm, while his friends get _beaten down_.

"Tails! We need your help!" Manic shouts

"Come on, Tails - (cough) get in here!" Amy yells

Knuckles bleeds from his mouth and nose, but manages to say a few words

"T... help"

Bark kicks Knuckles in the body and looks at Tails "Yeah, T. Come on and help your friends"

Tails' heart beats fast, the fear makes him freeze on the spot.

 _ **What would Sonic do?**_

Tails closes his eyes for a moment and calms himself. He looks around for weapons and then he gets ready. He takes a deep breath and runs toward the massive polar bear.

The Fox aims his hacking device, The SAGE program, up at the ceiling and presses a green button. The lights explode, car alarms go off and a giant garage door is opened. All of this distracts Hazard long enough for Amy, Knuckles and Manic to jump to their feet

"It's payback time, fuckers!" Manic shouts

Amy blocks a punch from Rosie then hits her back with a quick combination of punches. She finishes with a powerful backfist punch that knocks Rosie out.

Knuckles punches Bark in the body, then kicks him in the head and hits him with a powerful spinning elbow strike to the jaw. The Massive Polar Bear flops to the floor and Knuckles makes sure he's not getting up.

Just as Nack aims his Gun at Tails, Manic stands in front of the Fox and takes the bullet. His Jade Medallion heals him and he rips the gun out of Nack's hand

"Enough of your shit, I'm done playing around" Manic calls out

His fist glows Green and he punches Nack as hard as he can. The Weasel gets knocked out and slides across the cold concrete floor.

Predator Hawk sucker punches Tails and takes his hacking device, but he's stopped by Amy as she whacks him with her War Hammer. The blue Hawk flies backwards and lies in pain, bleeding from the nose

Tails picks up the SAGE program and the four friends look down at their defeated enemy

"Ugh ...you bastards think this means anything? Beatin' the shit out of us down in this cave? Ha! ... (coughs) .. call the cops, get us arrested, it wont mean shit! There will ALWAYS be someone like me to take over. And you? You're just a bunch of **NOBODIES**! ..You guys aren't changing anything"

Manic jumps up and hits Hawk with a spinning heel kick to the top of the head.

The SAGE program starts beeping loudly in Tails' hand so he looks at it. He types on the touchscreen keyboard but the beeping continues

"Uh, guys? This place is about come down. Very violently, actually"

"Self destruction mode?" Amy asks

"Yep. Activated 10 seconds ago"

Manic looks at Predator Hawk, holding a black detonator in his hand

Knuckles sighs "I can already smell the irony"

Manic looks at him "What do you - wait... No. NO! No, I'm not saving these assholes, not after everything they did to us! The sons of bitches tried to KILL us! Murder, **End** Our Lives! Now we gotta save 'em?!"

The first explosion goes off in the room next to the hangar. All four members of Hazard are knocked out, so if the friends leave them inside, they'll get caught in the explosions

"You save a life, and you prove you're Not the same as them. You're better" Amy says

The green hedgehog growls angrily, then picks up Nack the Weasel and carries him on his shoulders. Amy finds a baggage cart and throws Rosie on it. Tails grabs Hawk by his jacket collar and flies out with him. Knuckles is too tired to lift Bark so he drags him by his leg and follows his friends out.

They reach a service elevator and everyone gets inside.

Nack opens his eyes slowly "...where am I?"

Manic quickly punches the Weasel and puts him back to sleep

"Shut the hell up you pile of shit..."

Tails closes the metal doors and presses the lobby button. The elevator travels up just as the underground hangar is blown up. Every guard remaining has already found an exit, so no one is left indoors. All of Eggman's stolen vehicles are engulfed in red hot flames, along with Hawk's security equipment.

The elevator gets to the main lobby and everyone gets out, dragging a member of Hazard with them.

Tails gets Hawk outside, then he rushes back inside the building.

"Tails! What're you doing?!" Amy shouts

"Get them to a safe distance, I'll catch up!" The Fox shouts back "Go ahead, I'm right behind you!"

Tails plugs his device into a computer and types furiously on his touchscreen keyboard. He downloads file after file of information, audio/video clips and Hawk's illegal dealings.

"Got you now, you prick" Tails says to himself

He unplugs his device and races out of the building. He escapes just as the remaining bombs go off and shake the foundation of The Tower. The entire block is shaken by the blast.

Tails joins his friends inside a bus shelter and watch as The Tower blows up. Every window is blasted out and the walls are blackened by the inferno.

"Why did you go back in there?" Manic asks

Tails pulls out the SAGE program "It was for a good reason, trust me"

* * *

The fire department and police show up not long after the blast. Mighty the Armadillo leads his own G.U.N crew on the scene and immediately run up to Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Manic

"How come when shit gets blown right to hell, I find you Four in the middle of it all? Every damn time, you punks" Mighty says "Be honest with me; what happened here?"

Predator Hawk sits in an Ambulance "Those pricks broke in, beat us up and set off those bombs! Officer! Arrest them, they tried to kill me and my Best Friends!"

"You lying punk! That's not enough close to what happened!" Manic shouts

"You guys showed up to my door, I didn't come lookin' for you. Officer, these guys are Criminals!"

Mighty makes his decision "Miles Prower, Amy Rose, Knuckles J. Echidna, Manic A. Hedgehog: you're under arrest for attempted murder, destruction of property and possession of deadly firearms"

"What!"

"Are you kiddin' me"

"Can you prove this?"

"Lying fucks"

Just as G.U.N officers put the four friends in handcuffs, a sports car with a loud engine pulls up to the scene. The G.U.N crews let this car pass the yellow tape and enter their crime scene parameter

"Whoa, whoa who authorized this? I'm in charge here!" Mighty shouts "You can't just let anyone into my crime scene! I don't give a shit how fancy their car is!"

Tails grins "About time they showed up"

Amy looks over at him "Who is that?"

(" _Enter Sandman_ " by Metallica plays through the car Stereo)

Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee step out of the Black sports car at the same time. Vector throws a cigarette away, Charmy chugs a can of Soda and Espio pulls his phone out

Mighty glares at the trio "What in the Hell are you dumb asses doing here?"

"Ha, he doesn't know! Espio, he's got no clue!" Charmy laughs

"What don't I know?" Mighty asks

Vector stands up and looks at Mighty straight in the face with a grin. Charmy flies beside the tall Crocodile and grins "My bro Vector is an Official G.U.N Officer!"

"Okay? Is that supposed to mean something?"

"It means he's got the same authority over these four as you, Mr. Mighty pants!" Charmy joking mocks

"No way, you are NOT taking over my crime scene! These four almost killed this businessman and his partners, they are going to spend the rest of their lives in prison! End of story!" Mighty yells

"Not according to this footage" Vector replies

Espio holds up his phone and shows the entire G.U.N crew a video of Hawk's security cameras. It shows Hazard attacking the friends, torturing Tails, robbing Mickie and Thompson, Nack shooting scared men and women, and Hawk collecting money from his racketeering syndicate.

"Seems like you have the wrong four individuals in custody, fellas" Vector says "And you know what that means? Espio, tell our friend Mighty what that means"

The Chameleon walks up "You _**fucked**_ up"

"That's right. Boys, release these four and arrest the ones called Hazard" Vector orders

Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Manic are uncuffed and the officers surround Hawk and his friends

"You can't do this! Don't tell me you're actually going along with this bullshit?! Hey! Get your hands off me, I'll have you fired from the force for this - HEY! OW! Police brutality! Help! SOMEONE HELP - AHH!"

Manic waves goodbye to Hawk, Nack, Rosie and Bark as they get thrown in the back of a police truck.

Vector looks at two more commanding officers "Well, M; it seems like you almost put these four Heroes in prison. You let your biased opinion cloud your judgment and potentially allowed the bad guys to get away with murder. And just when the big bosses let you have your own team"

Mighty growls and runs at Vector, until the G.U.N officers hold him back

Vector grins "Send this rookie back to the academy, boys. We found who we're looking for"

Mighty gets pulled out of the crime scene and driven away in a G.U.N car. Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Manic shakes Vector's hand and walk back to his car

"Thanks for saving our asses, dude! I sure as hell don't wanna go to prison" Manic says "Who are you, by the way?"

Vector jumps in the drivers seat "Just another one of Sonic's old buddies. Good to finally meet you, kid"

Espio and Charmy get inside the car, wave to the friends and drive off into the distance.

Manic looks at Tails "You called them, didn't you"

"I may have left a message for them earlier this morning" The Fox replies

Amy checks her phone, Hawk's security footage is all over the internet

"Tails, how come these videos are everywhere?"

"I knew the only way to expose Hazard was to release everything they have online. It turns out Predator Hawk had files on ALL of us. Go ahead, check out what he had" Tails says

Knuckles looks at a TV monitor, eyes glued to the screen. He looks closely as the local news shows a video clip of an Echidna girl running across rooftops and evading police

Manic looks at him "Knux, you alright? You see a ghost?"

"...Supposed to be a ghost.. ah, it's probably nothing"

"If you say so. Hey Tails, this is some interesting stuff on these videos you leaked-"

Manic stops mid sentence and watches a video of someone holding Sonia's Crystal Medallion. Someone with long hair and a metal Arm. The medallion isn't supposed to work for anyone except Sonia, but this individual is using the powers like it belongs to them.

"Son of a bitch, that guy has one of the Medallions that got stolen from me!" Manic shouts "I gotta go"

A female reporter runs up to the four friends "Wait just a moment, guys!"

A crowd of journalists and cameramen surround Amy, Knuckles, Tails and Manic

"Oh, I guess we're doing an interview. Look, they brought the whole TV news crew"

"Is it true that you four stood up against Hawk Ltd. and fought to expose the companies' extensive criminal dealings?"

"Well, yeah. It was a group effort. We couldn't have done it alone" Manic answers

"Are you actually Sonic the Hedgehog's brother?"

"Nah, I just like to say it" Manic answers sarcastically "Seriously though.. I might have lost my bro 6 months ago, but I gained a new family in the last week or so we've been doing this. Best week I've had in years"

"Do you have a name for this new alliance?"

Manic is about to say something but stops himself and looks at his friends for a moment. He looks back at the reporters and comes up with an answer

"We're just a bunch of Nobodies trying to do the right thing"

As the reporters ask them more questions, Manic leads his friends out of the area and back to Knuckles' apartment. Tails orders a pizza, Knuckles buys some beer and Amy brings a special gift over

"So, we're back to being heroes again" Amy starts "The bad guys lose and the good guys win. Sounds like it's time to celebrate"

The pink hedgehog opens the gift bag and pulls out a huge bottle of Rum

"I had some of your other liquors, Knux. And y'know what? This is definitely the one I like. So guys, lets get drunk!" Amy laughs

"Look at Rose, bringin' out the good stuff. Never thought I'd see the day" Knuckles says "Cheers, my friends"

Everyone clangs their glasses together and takes a big drink. After all their work, tonight is a night to both celebrate, and rest.

With Hazard gone, the city's street gangs have their resources cut by 90% and they have no choice but to lay low to avoid the police. Families can go out in the streets and feel safe, something that has been absent for close to 5 years. The incarceration of Predator Hawk, Bark the Polar Bear, Rosie R. And Nack the Weasel is a stern but fair warning to other syndicates in Metropolis

But of course, the work is never done.


	9. Finale

_Chapter Nine: Pals_

 **METRO GARDEN, 2:17 AM**

Tails walks through a grass field in the middle of the night, with only his phone's flashlight to guide him. He wears a long jacket to cover the bandages that keep his wounds closed. So far, no one knows he left Knuckles apartment - except for the girl he's meeting.

"You're looking pretty good, Miles" Fiona Fox greets "I'm genuinely surprised you're still alive after fighting Hazard"

Tails meets her at the top of a hill "Yeah well, maybe they weren't so tough after all"

"Yeah, maybe... look, I'm sorry for what I did to you, Tails... I really am"

"Is that why you dragged me all the way out here, to say you're sorry? After all the _bullshit_ I just had to go through - now you tell me You're Sorry?..."

"Well if it makes you feel better, all of my contacts won't deal with me anymore. They won't even deal with each other. You and your friends just showed the entire world The Underground isn't just some myth, it's real. By doing that, you made almost every scumbag and whore come out of hiding. Just by releasing all of Hawk's 'business' information... which means I have to find a new place to hide, again. So thanks for that"

"Maybe its time for you to go straight. Get a job that isn't illegal to do, find a _**GOOD**_ man, pay your taxes... be a regular citizen, again"

Fiona chuckles at this "Tails, I'm way past that. Once you're in the type of shit I'm into, you can't just walk away and go back. It doesn't work like that"

Tails looks down at the city, watching traffic lights turn red and green, feeling the chilly wind breeze through. Fiona grasps his hands and intertwines her fingers with his

"Y'know, with a device like that SAGE program, we could have anything we want. Think about it: never working again, no more bills to pay.. we could get away from everyone and live our lives anyway we want"

The female fox kisses him for a brief moment, then he pulls away. He lets go of her hands and looks Fiona in the eyes

"Maybe, if I was a weak individual I would consider it.. but I know what I want to do, and how I want my life to go. Me and you, we could never make it work because you're into some shit that I'm not apart of nor do I wanna be. So, I think it's best if we go our separate ways, Fiona"

Fiona gives him a disappointed expression, then walks away. She turns around as she walks to tell him one last thing

"Some pretty bad men and women will come looking for that A.I... the type of folks you can't just beat in a fist fight. You took away their hiding place, so they'll be everywhere. Be careful, Miles.."

"I look forward to meeting them"

Fiona disappears into the shadows and Tails watches over the city. One week ago the streets were filled with blood and dead bodies. Now the men, women and children of Metropolis can walk those same streets safely.

* * *

Knuckles rolls around in his bed, unable to sleep more than 10 minutes. He quietly gets up, goes down to his basement and grabs a can of beer. He sees his large punching bag hanging from the ceiling so he starts punching it.

As he punches, he can't get the image of that echidna girl out of his head. He tries to ignore it but her face stays with him. He hits the bag harder and faster but this only makes him more angry. Finally he stops and pulls out his phone.

 _ **That ain't her. Can't be.**_

He watches the news clip of this girl running across rooftops, while an army of police chase her. Knuckles zooms in on her face and looks closely

Amy walks downstairs "Knux?"

The Echidna puts his phone down and looks at her "Yeah, It's me"

"Can't sleep either, huh"

Knuckles doesn't reply, he only looks away

"Hey, what's wrong?" Amy asks

He hesitantly gives her the phone "...video was taken 2 weeks ago. Says the police tried to keep it under wraps, hide it from the public. They couldn't catch the girl"

Amy watches the video "She looks exactly like Julie"

"That's what I said, too"

"...but, didn't she - no, this can't be her.. unless she never actually died"

Knuckles takes his phone back and walks upstairs, clearly upset.

"Knux, wait! Where are you going?" Amy asks

"This video was taken here, in Metropolis. She's somewhere in the city. Amy, I have to go see for myself. If that's actually Julie, then I _**NEED**_ to see her"

The Echidna starts turning on lights and making noise as he looks for his gear bag.

"Knux, you're gonna wake up Manic and Tails!"

"They're not here, they took off bout an hour ago"

Amy looks in their rooms "What? Where are they going at this time of night?"

* * *

"Get back here, you _thief!_ " Manic shouts loudly

"Funny, coming from you!" A female voice shouts back

Manic runs after a tall girl with long ears,racing down the backstreets downtown. They push past anyone whose on the side walks and climb over cars, neither one running out of stamina.

"When I catch you, you're dead!" Manic says

"Good luck with that!"

The girl opens her jacket and pulls out the stolen Pink Medallion

"That doesn't belong to you! Give it back!"

"If it doesn't belong to me, how come I can use it's powers?!" The girl calls out

She aims the Gem back at Manic and fires a Neon Pink ball of energy at him. The ball misses him and erupts as it strikes a brick wall

"I don't know, but you really suck at aiming!" Manic yells

"Okay, lets see you do _This_!"

The girl's entire body glows Pink and she runs straight up a building wall. Manic uses his Jade Medallion's energy to try and do the same, but he can't run nearly as fast. He slides off the wall and keeps trying but he can't get up

"Okay, so you can shoot balls of energy and run up walls. Thats something I Can't do.. looks like I'm doing this the old fashioned way"

As the girl runs, a trail of Neon Pink is left behind her. Manic runs on the street and follows the trail across the buildings she's jumping. He sees she is trying to cross a large bridge, so he runs around a few buildings to try and cut her off before she gets there. His Medallion's energy helps him run incredibly fast so he's catching up.

Just as the girl reaches the bridge, Manic grabs ahold of her jacket and pulls her to the ground

Manic holds her down "Just give me the Gem and I'll let you go!"

"Not happening, punk ass!"

Her body turns Pink again and she puts her hand on Manic's chest. He is blasted off of her and thrown down the street. The girl gets up and takes off over the bridge.

"That didn't go so well..."

The Green Hedgehog gets to his feet, holds his ribs and makes his way back to Knuckles place. He walks in through the backdoor and sees Amy and Knuckles waiting for him.

"Oh hey, guys. Didn't mean to wake you up, I was just grabbing my stuff. Gotta head out" Manic says

"You and your friend are all over the news" Knuckles responds

The TV news shows security footage of the girl with Sonia's Pink Medallion using its powers. Manic is seen chasing her close behind

"Look at that, I made it on TV"

"Yeah, and now the police are gonna be looking for you" Amy says

"Thats not good"

Before anyone says anything else, Tails walks in through the front door

"Oh, everyone's awake. I would've gotten you something at the store if I would've known that" Tails says

"Where'd you go?" Amy asks

"Fiona asked me to see her, things didn't go so well. Needless to say I won't be seeing her anymore"

"Bro, did you see the news? I'm on TV!" Manic says excitingly "But now I have to get moving. The pigs wanna arrest me again. But I did find my sister's Medallion! Some girl has it so now I've gotta deal with her, as well"

"Yeah, I have to get back home, too. There's a few adjustments I have to make on this SAGE program" Tails says "It was good to meet you, Manic"

"Text me bro, We'll do this again sometime"

Manic gives Tails a fist bump and Amy hugs him tightly

"Thanks for being here for me, Manny"

She kisses him on the cheek and he smiles back

Knuckles stands up and faces Manic in the doorway

"That black eye is starting to clear up nicely"

"Next time it'll be You all punched out, kid"

Both guys laugh and give a fist bump

"I'll see you around, Knucklehead"

Manic leaves and closes the door behind him.

Amy stands up "I think I'll go with Tails back to Green Hill. I've spent enough time in The Big City, it's time to get back home"

She wraps her arms around Knuckles for a big hug "Thank you Knux, for everything"

"It was my pleasure, Ames. This was pretty fun" Knuckles replies

The Pink Hedgehog goes to pack her bags and Tails walks up to Knuckles next

"Hey kid, you did pretty good out there. You really improved.. but are you gonna be alright with that thing?" Knuckles asks

"Fiona told me bad guys will come for the SAGE program. I'm more than ready for that" Tails answers

"Good to hear. Hey, take care of Amy. She's gonna need her friends to be there. Alright, kid?"

"Alright, Knux"

The Echidna and Fox smile and shake hands for the last time. Amy comes down the stairs and joins Tails outside. They wave to Knuckles and head out to the train station, eager to come home.

 **THE END**

 **HELLO READERS! I WILL BE WRITING A FEW MORE STORIES THAT CONTINUE THIS STORYLINE.**

 **" _TRICK_ ", " _MAD DOG_ " & " _SAGE_ " ARE THE NEXT PLANNED FICS I WILL BE WORKING ON, SO PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT WHEN THEY ARE PUBLISHED. THANKS FOR READING!**

 **~Menace3117**


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